Jean, Terry, Paula and Rich to Florida

Our home teacher and friend Terry (the guy who helped us with the floor on the Rainbow House and got a scar on his head for his trouble), his wife Jean and Paula and I spent a week in south Florida. Hundreds of birds, a lot of sun and altogether a great time.


This picture epitomizes our trip. An Ibis, an Alligator and a Purple Gallinue all sharing the same swamp with us and getting along great!



We were in Ft. Lauderdale on the Friday night of spring break. Party on our floor kept us up until about 4.




We took pictures of 5 courthouses, but I gotta admit, I was primarily there for the birds.


Anhinga's!


Note the blue around the eyes. Birds develop blue around the bare eyes when they are breeding.


The beautiful Great Blue Heron's were very busy building nests.


Some of the Heron's were really active in feeding. This one had a tough time choking down a pretty big fish.





This Barred Owl was not too concerned about us. Nor were the Burrowing Owls in this subdivision near the public library in Cape Coral.



I always love seeing the Pelican's whenever we are at the beach.



The Birds of Prey are especially numerous in Florida.


The Red Shouldered Hawk



The Osprey, with many nests on top of poles in the open.



Of course the Vultures. This Turkey Vulture is eating a wild Hog out in the swamp.


The Crested Caracara is really beautiful with its orange and blue beak and dark crest. This one had just found a grub in the dirt.


The endangered Snail Kite is found only in the Everglade swamps, and in this picture we caught him hauling a snail out of the mud.


Lot's of shorebirds.


Like this Lesser Yellowlegs. Lesser only because it is somewhat smaller than its cousin the Greater Yellowlegs.


On some beaches, like here at Tigertail in Naples had thousands of "peeps".


The Glossy Ibis is one of the truly beautiful residents of Florida.


This little "Hooded Warbler" must have been lost. They are normally found much further north, not here on the beach!


The Fulvous Whistling Duck is also somewhat rare.


As is this Black Bellied Whistling Duck.



One of the most beautiful of all the birds is the cousin of the Coot, the Purple Gallinue.


Equally beautiful is the Painted Bundting.


And of course it is always fun to see the Pileated Woodpecker.



These fish were new to me. Chuong tells me they were common in Vietnam. They defend their young in these holes that they dig with their tails. Apparently they have the ability to suck the minnow's into their mouths if danger appears.


I took about 17,000 pictures on this trip, but didn't get near enough of the beautiful flowers.


There were many species of turtles. Not sure what the deal is with the one on the left!


We saw a number of lighthouses.


We even stopped at Edison's winter home in Ft. Meyers. He had a beautiful estate with great gardens. Paula and Jean are under a huge Kapok tree.


I didn't get a picture of Paula in her scuba gear. But she was really happy that she had done the dive!




Peace, Out.

Credo Is Fun!

The House of Rainbow was the latest location for a Credo fun night.



Included in the fun was a game that included moving skittles with a straw!


And a campfire!



But the most entertaining activity of the evening, especially for the spectators was a rousing game of Twister! Caution, may not be suitable for small children.






A tip....don't play with Bro Mecham. He may not cheat, but he does play dirty. Nevertheless Genevive beat him!

Family and Home, Mingled with Birds

Just a family update with a few of the birds that are so fun to watch as they change. First a brief update on the Farm House. One side is coming together, complete with siding, and waiting for doors and windows.


While the other side is not doing too well. Replacing siding turned into replacing the whole wall!


Meanwhile, the Northern Shoveler paddles calmly nearby. Check out the beak on that guy. He literally shovels the water as he eats!


The wall dismantle included a window that explained a great deal! Note that the nail hole is directly over the instructions!


The season brings us fun outdoor stuff. The views of Mt. Hood from the new deck at the Farm.


The young finches searching for the bright colors that will come soon.


The outdoor fires as spring whispers that she is almost here!


The joy of a spring Dark-Eyed Junko.


Grandma continues to teach the Grandkids. The last couple of Saturday's, we have had Chuong, Liyan, Kayla, Sara, Eva, Victor and Felix.


The youngsters are joined by the young Downey Woodpecker. He is still without a tail, but is nonetheless awfully proud.


Kayla, Eva and Victor play on Grandpa's computer while it is Sara's turn with Grandma.


Check out the eyes on the Junior Downey.


And the hard working Dad (Chuong) who continues to work on the computer stuff almost 24/7 since he went to work for the law firm as our computer specialist.


But take one more look at the eyes on this young Downey from the back!


The kids love Grandma's bed! It is so warm and soft!


They are watching cartoons while I am just outside taking pictures of birds like this young California Quail.


They love how the bed rolls with them!


But they are missing some great birds like this adult male Quail.


Grandma is having great fun hauling around the pipsqueaks.


But we will end with one of my favorite local birds. This Red-Breasted Sapsucker was in a tree just outside the front of Rainbow.