Those Crazy Cardinals | Sarnia/ Lambton County Photographers

They're back at it again. Last year we only saw the male. This year his mate has joined him. Suddenly they've decided that the windows of our home are the enemy. Daily we hear his song and their chirps, accompanied by a gentle tapping at the window.

Our youngest child wonders aloud if we should let them in...

Because we remember moments, not days...

March Break Fun | Sarnia Lambton County Photographers

It was a Girls Only March break as both the guys were working. I let the girls just BE in all their ragamuffin glory. Hair undone, and playing in undershirts/tank tops and winter boots. The weather was sunny and warm all week. I enjoyed my afternoon tea, chocolate, and a good book out on the front porch. It was a marvelous March break.

Because we remember moments, not days...

Spring is Exploding! | Sarnia/ Lambton County Photographers

I am always amazed at how a mere week can make such a difference when you wander in the outdoors in March. Come the end of February, many of us in the more northern climes itch to see signs of spring. Often the first sign is the arrival of the migratory birds such as the red wings and the robins.

Then usually within a week of their arrival, the things of the earth begin to pop!

The silver maples go from tiny buds...

To the flowers that make the keys...

that make me sneeze :o).

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

Because we remember moments not days...

Tundra Swans | Sarnia/ Lambton County Nature Photographers

A sure sign that spring is on its way in Lambton County, is the return of the tundra swans. They are usually only here for a few short weeks at the most and virtually always arrive sometime in March.

The tundra swans are a majestic site flying in their large V formations and landing in flooded fields and bogs. One hopes that upon their arrival that they will set down close enough that you won't need binoculars the entire time. At about 1.3m from beak tip to tail, one would think they would be very visible while resting in the fields, but it's not until they're up in the air that you fully realize how large and beautiful these birds really are.

This year we had the opportunity to see the swans up close and personal. Although it looked like it could rain at any moment, we loaded up the kids in the van and headed out to see what we could see. We were surprised to discover a field covered in swans before we reached the bogs where they normally love to rest. We drove to  the bogs, but they were empty. We did find some resting in the flood plains, but they were too far away to even see well with the binoculars, let alone get a photo of them, so we drove back to where we first saw them.

At first they were only sitting in the field, but then some Canada geese who were hanging out with them decided to take flight with a big ruckus, which in turn caused the swans to become a little restless and take flight in small to large groups. The other great part? The clouds were broken and there were large patches of blue sky and even some sunshine!

What a fun and beautiful morning enjoying more of God's majestic creation.

Because we remember moments, not days...

Geocaching in PR -- Not as Simple as in Canada | Sarnia/ Lambton County Photographers

Our first attempt at geocaching in Puerto Rico resulted in utter failure, but we're not ones to give up too quickly. It was the one and only day we had of rain -- if you could call the warm light drizzle we experienced rain. Although the locals all used their umbrellas, or hid from it in buildings, we trotted around in the rain tying to find an illusive cache. Well, it wasn't to be found for us. The clues led us to believe it was somewhere in the parking lot, as did our GPS coordinates.

The clues also said to use stealth in the parking lot. Does Murray look like he is using stealth here :o)?

During our second attempt a few days later, we were a little more successful.

Sneaking behind the locked gate which was really just an illusion because ten feet to the right there was no fence at all!

 

Is it in the tree?

 

Yes! Success! We left a Cdn. nickel behind.

Seriously! Could it get any more gorgeous than this?!? This one took us a looong time to find, and in the end it was a surprise that we found it at all, but Bub's persistence paid off.

 

(One little girl losing interest in the hunt).

 

Another cache is given a Cdn. nickel.

 

Some cool cards in this cache.

Our final geocaching attempt was also fruitless, but fun despite it all. We went to a small town near Rincón where they have a big aluminum statue of a cow standing at the corner of a busy intersection. Somewhere near that cow was the cache, but could we find it? Nope! I wish I had thought to take some photos, but they would have had to have been of me peering persistently into the nostrils of the cow. I was sure the cache was in her nostrils -- there was a purple cylinder in there!! Thankfully me standing on tiptoe peering into an aluminum cow's nostrils did not cause any accidents. We couldn't leave any more nickles behind though :o(.

Geocaching in PR is nothing short of an adventure!

Because we remember moments, not days...

Brown Pelicans

We spent our week living among the locals in a funky little house about a thirty second walk from the beach. By locals, I mean not only the people, but the wildlife. We saw the pelicans fishing off shore everyday, but one day was especially busy. I think the way the waves were rolling that day, the fish had moved with them and were feasting (and being feasted upon in return) about two hundred feet out from shore.

We were continually amazed by the pelicans' abilities. For such a large bird, their skills are impeccable! It was rare that we didn't see them pop back up from their super quick, super shallow dive, without a fish in their pouch, and then promptly gobble it up.

They weren't afraid to fly in quite close.

Going in for dinner!

Coming up...

with dinner.

And taking off again, to find some more!

Finally after feeling full, there's always some time to rest in the sun ;o).

It was fun to watch another one of the unique and specially designed animals that God has made!

Because we remember moments not days...