Sunday, September 28, 2008

A Very Good Weekend

Today is my birthday. I missed Dad and Mom and Phyllis terribly this morning, thinking of all the phone calls from them over the years. Mom and Dad always sang Happy Birthday together on the phone, them Mom would remind me of what time I was born. Dad would call me "Lynne-deree". Phyllis would call too and seriously sing her version which would always throw me into fits of laughter because Phyllis had a pretty awful voice.
She'd tell me
"Happy Birthday Lynne-binn".
My family is big on nick-names.
A few tears, but mostly smiles remembering.
I didn't work this weekend so we had planned to spend my birthday weekend up north at Hasty Brook but John got a last minute invite to spend Friday night with friends that he hadn't seen in a while and packing bedding and food for just one night seemed like too much effort to me so we stayed home. Saturday morning I got up early and read some blogs over my coffee and I saw that Ecobirder was going to be at Carpenter Nature Center on Saturday as a volunteer for the Raptor Center. They were going to have a raptor release and have various education birds on display. My sweet Art gassed up the car and drove me down there. One of my favorite education birds was this broad-winged hawk. I've seen them in flight before but never this kind of view.
This bird had just finished bathing.
They are quite a bit smaller than I had thought. It's hard to get an idea of size when they're in flight.
Is this not an exquisite face?

I saw so many birds and took zillions of pictures- enough for several posts. It was a wonderful gift from Art that he went along with me. He followed me patiently while my eyes sparkled taking in the sights of these fabulous birds.
He even carried my bag.
Thanks Art.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday, Lynne! What a beautiful, amazing bird. I'm glad that your birthday was wonderful!

LauraHinNJ said...

Happy B-Day Lynne!

It sounds like your Art took good care of you today and treated you to your favorite things - birds!

(These pics are gorgeous, btw!)

Jayne said...

Glad it was such a great day for you Lynne! :c)

troutbirder said...

Happy birthday! Lovely close ups.

Shelley said...

Happy, happy birthday Lynne! I enjoyed your photos today - so nice to see the hawk close up like this!

NCmountainwoman said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Loved the pictures of the hawks. Sounds like a really good day.

Marsha said...

Happy Birthday Lynne!

That's true love....carrying your bag!

Carolyn H said...

Great photos, Lynne! Yes, those broad-wings are kind of little--crow-sized maybe. Happy birthday!

Carolyn H.

Richard said...

Happy Birthday Lynne. Great pictures as always.

Anonymous said...

Yes, carrying the bag is a good sign that Art is getting into this birding thing! Isn't it fun to share these experiences with the one you love? It makes it even more special. That hawk is just beautiful! He's so....well, so clean looking, ha. He does have a pretty face with those pretty eyes. I'm looking forward to the other photos you took.

Anonymous said...

OH, my! I forgot to say in the above comment, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

jalynn01 said...

Happy Belated Birthday!!! Hawks are awesome, I marvel at every photo I get. These are wonderful.

possumlady said...

Happy Belated Birthday Lynne!! I'm so sorry I'm late. Wonderful hawk photos, as usual.

What a great impromptu birthday gift from Art--driving you to see birds, and carrying your bag to top it off!

(does he have any single brothers? ;-))

Anonymous said...

Happy belated Birthday Lynne, we just celebrated Lizette's birthday as well on Sunday, I took her out to Springbrook for her birthday.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Hope your day is very special,together with the memories of family.Great shots of the hawks.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday! I am glad your weekend turned out well.

Leedra said...

Happy Birthday! Absolutely love the photographs! Wish I had been there, too long of a drive for me.

NatureWoman said...

Happy Birthday Lynne!! Ohhh, what cool photos of the hawk! And that Art went with you, that is awesome!

Mary C said...

A belated Happy Birthday, Lynne. What a cool place to visit for your big day, and your best friend to accompany you. Beautiful hawk and beautiful photos of the hawk.

Mary said...

So you liked my birthday poem? LOL! I'm no poet, for sure.

Linne, that's one gorgeous bird. That's a real birthday treat!

I thank Art, too, for making your weekend special. Bittersweet, but very, very, nice.

Hugs,
May

Susan Gets Native said...

Have I said this before? Well, dammit, I shall say it again....

WE. LOVE. ART.


Happy birthday, dearest Lynne.
(B-day present will be waiting for you at Cape May. Meet you on the marsh.)
: )

ivars krafts said...

Happy belated birthday, Lynne!
I'm glad that you could have the wonderful time with Art that you did; sometimes the unplanned is the most fun.
Great hawk shots!

Ecobirder said...

Lynn, it was great to see you again. I am glad that you came down to help celebrate the release, as well as your birthday with the Raptor Center and Carpenter Nature Center. It sounds like you had as much fun as I did. The BW hawk in your pictures is named Kettle. His story is kind of sad, he came to The Raptor Center last year after he was shot while in the nest with a bee bee gun. He still has a bee bee stuck in his brain which can not be removed. The bee bee has caused blindness in one eye and his other eye has partial vision lose. He may also have some brain damage. Obviously he can not be released back into the wild but he has found a good home at The Raptor Center and in the hearts of many of the educational volunteers and staff.

Ruth said...

Happy belated birthday Lynne. You will turn your husband into a birder, I am sure!

Heidi said...

Happy belated birthday Lynne! Looks like you had a wonderful day :) And a wonderful gift from Art as well :D

Ecobirder... thanks for sharing that story. Poor Kettle. I'm glad he has you and the Raptor Center.

Corey said...

I too was shocked the first time I saw a BW hawk. Far smaller than they look in the field guides. Still a very pretty raptor though.

Kathie Brown said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYNNE!!!!!!!!!

I'm smiling and crying all at once. I feel your loss but rejoice with this wonderful trip to see the birds. That hawk does have an exquisite face. How lovley and sweet of Art to take you there. I hope the birds soothed your soul. I'm glad your eyes were shining! Perhaps your family was smiling down on you too!

Larry said...

A belated Happy Birthday to you Lynne! Sorry you miss your family but that just shows how much you still have them in your heart.