It was the second weekend of deer hunting season in Minnesota. My brothers and nephews are deer hunters. They would have been very jealous to see what was resting in our next-door neighbors’ backyard this morning. I tried to sneak up behind the bushes and catch a shot (photo) of him as he rested. He was very alert and didn’t appreciate my interruption. He got up right away and kept a cautious look towards me.
BuckEight Point Buck
MajesticWalking Away
My brothers hunted at my Mom’s house this weekend and went home empty-handed. I imagine this buck has been enjoying city living protected from all the hunters.
Sophia and I enjoyed the last weekend of “official” summer with a walk/bike ride. We brought Daphne with so that she could enjoy the warm weather too. The forecast of 71 degrees happened early in the day. It cooled off later in the afternoon and then the rain began during the evening. We spent an hour or so enjoying the weather, picking up fall leaves, acorns and other items for Sophia’s craft project. We also enjoyed seeing some of the local wildlife. No bears this day, thank goodness!
The first of the wildlife was a pair if deer in a yard about a half a mile from our house. This doe was rather curious and watched us for a while before bounding off into the trees.
Oh Deer!
We saw a group of ducks including some nearly full-grown ducklings. The colorful feathers on their heads had not filled in yet.
DucksWatching And WaitingWater Fowl
We also saw this heron standing completely still in the pond.
Long-Legged BirdStanding Still
When the bird had enough of our picture-taking, he/she flew off.
Fly Away
When we went around to the second pond, we saw him/her again.
Mirror Image
The geese spotted us and made their way over across the pond looking for hand outs. We forgot to bring food with, so they lost interest after a while.
Snow White
Along the road on the way out Sophia stopped for a quick picture.
Biker
We noticed that some of the branches on the trees were sporting fall hues.
Colorized
Today’s weather is cold, windy and rainy. We are glad that we got out yesterday to enjoy the last few hours of warmth.
We spent Easter weekend in the Twin Cities enjoying time with family. Sebastian and Sophia love hanging out with their cousins (and Aunt & Uncle and Grandparents). Saturday was spent playing outside, coloring Easter eggs and celebrating their cousin Ella’s birthday with a delicious dinner and birthday cake.
Outdoor TimeFamily Fun
We went to mass with Mike’s parents on Sunday and enjoyed a wonderful Easter dinner with the whole family. The kids had their annual Easter egg hunt, not indoors, but in the basement. There was too much snow and mud outside. I neglected to take photos except one of the cousins. Our sister-in-law was kind enough to take a photo of the four of us.
The CousinsThe Four Of Us
We had a week filled with school and work, along with evenings spent at a baseball practice, a piano lesson, gymnastics and an art night with friends. Here is a sample of what we worked on.
Art Night
We found these two in our neighbor’s backyard on Friday morning. Make yourself at home!
Unwelcome Guests
On my way into work I spotted two geese swimming alongside the William A. Irvin.
Geese
Sophia had her first piano recital Friday evening. It was a small performance with some of her teacher’s other students. They played at a senior apartment building. Sophia was a little nervous, but didn’t miss a note when it was her turn to play. She looked very confident behind the piano. Her cousin, Katelyn, is also a student so we were able to see her perform as well. We are looking forward to the big recital in May!
Duo
Here are a few more random photos from the past week or two.
M. Sullivan Photography 