We were lucky enough to visit my family’s farm over the March break. The hens there lay beautiful blue/green eggs. Of course we collected some, boiled them up and displayed them proudly on our dinner table for Easter.
Yesterday I saw the first gosling of the year! Right when I noticed it and was snapping away with my camera, I noticed something interesting happening…
…so, there is the little gosling (soooo cute).
Along came a curious Ring Necked Duck followed by some males vying for her attention.
The little duck gets chased by a parent goose who is rightfully protecting it’s only baby.
The duck does not give up. She chases away her male pursuers and continues to follow the gosling, quite smitten by it. 
Finally, she catches up and the parent geese decide she is not really much of a threat so allow her to hang out with them. The duck kept swimming around the little gosling who was curious about the duck.
For a short while, she managed to have the gosling all to herself while the parents watched from not to far away.
Eventually the parents decided to step in again and shoo away the duck after they let her have her fun.
I really have not idea why this duck was so interested in the gosling. It seemed to me she wanted to be it’s mother, but of course being a mother myself, I am only speculating from my own perspective! Perhaps she was just curious, or wanted to play. Whatever the situation, it was fun to watch 🙂
I know it is not winter any more and most people don’t even want to think of winter now, but I found and thought I would share these two photos which I feel capture the joy of winter on the lake. If I don’t post them now, I may forget later when it is winter again! Also, to follow is an excerpt from a Lucy Maud Montgomery poem I love entitled “A Winter Day”.
Life hath a jollity and zest,
A poignancy made manifest;
Laughter and courage have their way
At noontide of a winter’s day.
–Lucy Maud Montgomery
The kids skating on seemingly endless ice.
We have had a number of windy days lately and although it is bitterly cold, it has made me dream of when windsurfing used to be a big part of my life. Since having kids, I have gotten out of shape and all my time has been focused on house, kids, jobs, etc.. Every now and then I have windsurfing dreams which, for me, are always the ultimate in happy dreams. There is no feeling like flying over the water with nothing but the wind as your wings and feeling the board dancing under your feet. So (sigh), I have vowed to get back in shape so I am able to once again live this experience.
My husband also windsurfs and this was one of the factors that brought us together in the first place. We both grew up on the Great Lakes where big winds and open waters abound, so the little lake we live on takes some getting used to. Unfortunately a good day windsurfing on the lake is a very rare occurrence. Here are some pictures of my husband a few years ago and some of me at the end.
The girls helping daddy prepare.
And he is off.
Wet hugs for a job well done.
And finally some pics of me a few years back. Not nearly as impressive but when I look at them they inspire me and remind me of what I used to do and strive to do again. 
Carpe Diem!
Thought I would share a collection of deer photos taken over the last year or so.
These deer were struggling just to move in the deep snow…
…and got frustrated with each other.
This little one hung around most of the morning to avoid some nearby coyotes. It was much less afraid of my daughter in the window.
Bugs were driving the deer batty on this day.
Just been snapping some pics of the neighbours yesterday and today and thought I would share.
The Great Blue Heron always leaves me breathless.
This little mink has decided to take up residence in a nearby rock pile. It was running back and forth yesterday gathering some meat from something dead and returning it to the rock pile. It was difficult to get a good photo since it is so quick.
This Hare was making many laps circling the house for some reason. It stayed still just long enough for me to get this shot. I noticed it still has a couple of small patches of white winter fur remaining.
Of all the birds and wildlife I see every day, I am always breathless when I watch the Osprey hunting for fish. They are truly spectacular birds. With their expansive wings, they hover when they see a fish, then tuck them in and dive right underwater from great heights. Somehow they effortlessly go from complete submersion to high flight in a matter of moments, shaking the water off their wings mid-flight upon ascent. I have tried to capture the spectacle but feel my photos do not do justice to what is witnessed by the eye.
Keeping an eye on the fish
Beginning the descent
The plunge
A closer look
Hunting again
I went a little “snap happy” last night (see lake pics here) because the evening was so stunning and I wanted to try to capture and share its beauty. I began this blog to document our progresses on the massive house reno we have undertaken in the passed year and a half, and now, here I am on my 12th post and I still haven’t even really shown the house at all! Now that our house is livable and comfortable, we are enjoying and savouring the fruits of our labour. Although we still have plenty of work to do until it is “finished”, we are trying to take more time to savour what we have done. It has been a very crazy last 2 years with renovations while raising the girls and trying to fit in work and live a somewhat balanced life. I don’t think we did the best at the “balanced” part since it is difficult to think of much else when you don’t have a roof over your head. Now that we have a little breathing room from the constant house projects, it is nice. We just have to try to not fall into the trap of not finishing it because we are to comfortable :). Here are some photos with the evening light in our new kitchen. I will soon post further blog entries showing our “before” photos and progress on our house – promise.
My husband enjoying a little quiet time. Yup, we live quite the party life 😉
In lieu of yesterdays blog post regarding our dog being attacked, I thought I would post a few photos I have taken of coyotes near our home.
This is one of my favourites because it is looking at me
Caught a scent
Coyote stand-off
homeonalake 
