Storming Into Spring

 

Storming Into Spring

Todd Swank's Diary Entry for May 7, 2023

One of our favorite things to do in springtime is to go on hikes to the various lakes, ponds, creeks, and rivers in the area.  Lucky for us in Minnesota, there is no shortage at all for places like these to visit.

I guess we're getting old because birdwatching is one of our favorite activities.  We get so excited whenever we see a new breed of bird although egrets like this guy are a regular encounter.  They think they're so sneaky though so I still like to stalk them.

Osprey aren't as common of a sight, although this is the second week in a row we witnessed this guy hunting his prey in Prior Lake.

I uploaded my osprey picture to the AI Image Generator tool Midjourney and asked it to imagine the bird as a Pixar character.  I thought it turned out pretty fun.

We've been seeing the pelicans again this week although we're pretty sure they're still just passing through town.

A couple of days later they stopped by again with even more of their friends.  It was a pelican party!

The carp are spawning in the stream by our house, so the birds of prey have been regular visitors.  We don't get to see Golden Eagles very often so we had fun tracking this guy down a few times this week.

I saw a lump of brown something off in the distance on the other side of the creek so I zoomed in and snapped this picture.  I didn't look at it and dismissed it as a rock or bush or something.  Only when I went though my photos did I discover that it was actually a beaver I captured.  For as long as I can remember, I've always loved a good beaver shot.

We hadn't seen the kids much this week so we invited them to breakfast at iHop this morning.  It was a nice time catching up on their lives for awhile.

It was a pleasant week for us and hope it was for all of you as well!