American Coots

We spend a lot of time at Mingus Park. As result we've been watching some amazing birds, including the American Coot. These amazing little water birds are so much fun to watch! So far, there have been two batches of babies born at the park this year. The bird pictured above is one of the mothers. She came right up to me just about when I was trying to get a picture. Check out those feet!

These are some of the nine babies that were born in the spring. These pictures are from June & they look even more like the adults now. They still mostly stick together also. They've been on their own for over a month now...I wasn't sure why until we found the 2nd batch of babies that were recently hatched. This batch is smaller, we've only seen 4 babies in the summer batch.

Here are two more from the spring batch. They are now smoother & are darkening up. They also have the red eyes & pale beaks that the adults have, and have lost the white running down the front of their necks.

I love this picture of the spring batch when I caught them up on the grass preening. I believe this picture was from the beginning of June, maybe the end of May.

Here are two from the summer batch. When they are first hatched they have red heads, yellow fuzz around the head and neck & fuzzy grey bodies. They actually blend in really well in the lily pads, and pretty much stick close to the lily pads while they are small. The mother's build nests in the lily pads.

Here's a pretty good close up...check it out you can see those amazing feet! This one is also from the summer batch.

Here comes momma bird on her way to feed the babies. At this age they seem to rely on momma to bring them food, but soon they will start foraging for themselves. Here are some good internet articles about the American Coot:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Coot ,

http://www.beakycoot.com/ , http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Coot/id

, http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i2210id.html . Please enjoy this short video of the babies swimming around.

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A Lovely Day at the Park

It was a gorgeous day to visit the park yesterday. It was really warm so I decided to rest in some ivy & ferns in the shade of a large tree.

Check out the bee balm. I love it's fuzzy pinkness, but alas the bees weren't bothering it at all. They were all over the wildflowers that are scattered around the park however.

I just love daisies. They are so sweet, bright, and cheerful all the time!

Michelle HATES gorse, but it looked pretty against the water & matched my dress well. Check out the feather I found. I think it adds a certain something to my outfit.

MMMMMM, huckleberries! Bears of all kinds love huckleberries!

Isn't this pretty? All the ferns & fire pokers just soften up & contrast this rock so nicely.

There's a really pretty arbor w/all these vines growing all over it, it's so peaceful & cool here.

MMM, love pretty purple flowers. Michelle is not sure what type this is...she probably knows & just can't remember, she has a mind like a steel sieve. Today we are going to the fair & see how Michelle's entries did. She entered 6 crocheted items & 6 pictures. Hopefully, we'll have an update tomorrow.

The Yard that Michelle Forgot

Michelle usually treats this yard as her private retreat, but this year she's been busy & hasn't done much more than mow this lawn. You know what happens when things are neglected, nature starts to take back over, but no one could've expected these results. Michelle swears that her adirondack chair is fine, just needs to be weeded & touched up & a couple of screws replaced...

We were inspecting the birdbath, that needs to be repainted, and look what we found hanging out on the rusty base...little Brontosaurus's! We have an operating theory that they have come back smaller to increase their chances of survival. Heck, they could've been around for a very long time, but due to the small size, just gone unnoticed.

Look! A migrating herd of Tricerotops! And again they are very small & different colors. This will be interesting to study.

The vines are strong enough to swing on! And they are overtaking the fence.

And a small herd of Acrocanthosaurus was found over in the corner. Again with the many bright colors & small size. We're really going to have to do some Paleontoligical studies on these mini dinosaurs.

And last but not least, also growing out of the fence, Fairy Flowers! These are actually Fuschias, but Riley has called them Fairy Flowers since she was tiny. Well, the good news is that Michelle is convinced that she needs to make some time to clear out the weeds in the yard that she forgot.

Holey Cactus Blossom Batman!

Doncha just love a cactus bloom? They are always such bright, vivid colors they almost don't look real.

See How Our Garden Grows

The begonias & succulents in the planter on the porch are in full bloom. One of the cacti is getting ready to bloom soon to!

The nasturtiums are really taking off now! Can't wait till they fall over the side & start blooming.

The tomatoes have several blooms starting too. Yum! Soon we'll have fresh tomatoes to eat.

The Gerbera Daisies are fabulous!

The apples are getting bigger, but are not near ready yet.

Another African Violet is blooming again! This is a lovely shade of purple.

A Day of Drag Racing...at our Track!

It was an overcast, sometimes misty day, here at the Coos Bay Speedway...so in their infinate wisdom, track officials decided to hold two races in one day! Here is Riley in her new race suit. She went for the jump suit this time, and those are not her race shoes, just the shoes she wears between races. In the background is the lovely Doug hauling out the rest of Riley's safety gear.

Here she is all suited up. Isabelle gets to ride in the breast pocket of her racing suit. I'm in the hip pocket. This is my Sunflower sundress...Michelle just hasn't made it to Joann's yet to get the sunflower decal that will pull it all together, sigh.

And here we are, all strapped in & ready to race. I'm on the left in the lap belt portion of the harness. Isabelle is still in the breast pocket. Riley got 2nd place in the first race & 3rd place in the second race, so it was a good race day for her. She also got to race against two of the best racers in the state, so that is always good practice for her! We actually had 7 Junior Dragsters racing in today's races! And Riley is now first in points for the JR dragsters for our track! Yeah Riley!

Ashleigh's New Mustang GT

Check out my new car! It's a smokin hot yellow Mustang GT. The video is my first time driving around the driveway.

Ashleigh's 4th of July

Hope you all had a great 4th of July! We went to Medford to Champion Raceway. Here is the view from our trailer door. It was really hot, over a 100 degrees. Michelle & the family melted. I, however, am made of fuzzy yarn & stuffing so I was really just fine.

They have more cars at the Medford track than we have & more classes of cars. Here's a pretty purple modified.

And this is what Riley's dragster will look like when it grows up.

Here is Riley all suited up for eliminations. I went with her! I am now the fastest bear I know! We went out first round though :-( Riley's car just didn't like the hotter weather and much higher elevation & didn't want to run much. That was okay, Riley still got to run at another track & against some different kids. These kids were really great! But they were all older & more experienced as drivers.

On the way home, Herman & I, kicked back in the truck & cooled off with the air conditioning.

We got home just in time to watch the fireworks! The fog was great for keeping us cooled off, but not so great for the fireworks. Michelle thought the sparkles coming out of the clouds was pretty though.

Michelle tried & tried to get a picture of me w/fireworks behind me, but this was the best she could get...just a red halo behind me. Oh well, maybe next year. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!