Birds of Prey

Johnny, Monica, Isabella and I took advantage of the beautiful spring weather and made a trip to the World Center for Bird's of Prey, which happens to be right here is Boise, Idaho.  During all the years that I have lived in Idaho, this is only my second visit.  One of their most well known success stories involves this beautiful bird - a Peregrine Falcon.  They were removed from the endangered species list in 1999 thanks in part to the efforts right here in Boise.

Another success story is the, not quite so beautiful, California Condor.  They are in a fenced enclosure and are difficult to photograph so I found this photo on line. 

At the end of the 1980s there were only 22 left in the wild. Those birds were captured and put in breeding programs.  In 1993 such a program was started in Boise.  The program was very successful and now when they are old enough, the hatched birds go to release sites in Arizona, California, and Baja Mexico. There is a free flying population of about 100 condors that go from the Grand Canyon into Utah.  Matt was lucky enough to see one in the wild just as he reached the summit of Angel's Landing in Zion National Park. 

Phoenix, the Red Tailed Hawk was a star of the bird show.  She hatched in the wild but injured her wing and was taken to a raptor rehab center where she imprinted on people so can't be released.  As she and the trainer entered the room she was very excited because she knew this was her free flying space.  It was obvious that she knew exactly what the trainer wanted her to do BUT wasn't always sure if she wanted to!  Kind of like a child!

My favorite bird was the Harpy Eagle.  They are native to South and Central America.  When we were on the Napa River in Ecuador they told us that Harpy Eagles like to eat sloths.

I think they look like they are wearing pants and should be a character in a Harry Potter movie.

His name is Grayson and he was hatched in Panama and released into the wild but because the tour guides fed him, he lost his fear of humans and for his own safety had to be recaptured.  I would think it would be for the human's safety too.  Just imagine the damage that could be done with those talons if he thought you should feed him and you didn't?

Isabella loved the binoculars I brought for her to use and enjoyed counting how many butterflies she saw. 

 I did talk her into posing with Bob, the American Kestrel.  I saw one of these small raptors on a fence post in Eagle last week.  Bob was found outside of his nest, raised by people so he never learned to hunt and relies on humans for his food.  

They are quite striking.

A very fun afternoon with some of my favorite people plus some very interesting birds!

   

Orpha Lewis's 100th!

 On Sunday March 20th,  George's siblings organized a Zoom meeting tribute to their Mom on her 100th birthday.  Karen wrote a biography and Tammy put together a slide show of photos of her through the years.  It was a wonderful occasion.

The grandchildren shared their memories of Grandma. I love the tender thoughts that our children expressed.  Although her mobility was severely limited through all their lives because of rheumatoid arthritis, she taught them life lessons through her interactions with them, as well as her cheerful acceptance of her limitations.   Each of them was touched by Grandpa's tender devotion to her throughout her life.

Here are some of the family photos through the years.  I wish I had a copy of the family photo on the bottom so that you could see clearly that we were all wearing 'ugly sweaters' and didn't know it!

Tammy didn't marry until several years after her death so Mom didn't know the wonderful additions to the family of Richard's kids, our 'Bonus Family' as I call them! It meant a lot to me, and I am sure to Tammy, that they wanted to know more about Grandma Lewis.  And it is a tribute to the love they have for Tammy.

I learned a few things that I didn't know before.  In the years just before her marriage, she earned a Masters of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Retailing from NYU. I knew that. What I didn't know was that she was in the top 10% of students in her program.  The photo on the left shows the members of the honor society of her program.  Notice anything?  Yes she was the only woman, groundbreaking for 1949-50! The other photo is a newspaper clipping from her hometown of Spanish Fork, Utah.  A sort of 'small town girl makes good in the big city' story.

When are kids were little I asked her what she did to have such smart children and she quickly replied, "marry their Dad".  I don't think that is the entire story.  She gets equal credit in the 'brains' department.

George uses different word to describe his parents. The word that describes his Dad is 'doing' and the word that describes his Mom is 'being'.  One cousin described them this way.  Dad was providing and Mom was nurturing. 

Together they created a wonderful family!

After the meeting we enjoyed several of Mom's recipes

Lemon Pepper Chicken

GreenBean Casserole

Waldorf Salad

canned Peas

Rolls 

Toffee Torte 

All served on her stoneware that Matt inherited.

Then we sang "Happy Birthday" and her Great-Granddaughter blew out the candles!

Happiest of birthdays Orpha, Mom, Grandma!

Disney Princess Concert

'I can show you the world!  Shining, shimmering, splendid! A whole new world!'

 Watching our own little princess, Isabella experience the world of a live concert for the first time was an 'indescribable feeling'! 

The Disney Princess Concert did not disappoint.

Isabella was fascinated by it all!  She loved intermission almost as much as the show.  Sour patch candies and a Rice Krispie treat to tide us over during the 2nd act! 

Her favorite song is "Let It Go" from Frozen, which was the closing number.  The audience was invited to join in and sing the chorus as the scenes from the movie were projected on a huge screen.  Lots of sweet little voices ringing out with :

Let it go, let it go

Can't hold it back anymore

Let it go, let it go

Turn away and slam the door

I don't care what they're going to say

Let the storm rage on

The cold never bothered me anyway

I suspect that this was the first of many evenings at the theatre for Grandma and Isabella.