Our 1st Anniversary

On Sunday, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. In a lot of ways, it feels like this year flew by. Sure, when we were apart, the days drug on, but in the large scheme of things, I feel like I was just walking down the aisle to pledge my life to my best friend. We had a wonderful day celebrating our marriage, and we look forward to the many more anniversaries to come!

We began our day by going to church. As I said on facebook, please ignore my hunchback pose. I am not sure what it up with that. Anyway, we enjoyed a very nice sermon preached by our pastor's brother-in-law. It really put a lot of things into perspective for me... such as waiting for God's timing in everything. His plan is so much bigger than we can understand.

After church, we drove to Ithaca to eat at The Boatyard. Yum! Their food is so tasty. They have buffalo chicken egg rolls that make my mouth water. It was delish!

After lunch, we saw this blue heron enjoying his lunch by the river. It was too cool to see one so close. Sadly, I soon scared him off.

We then came back home, exchanged gifts, changed clothes, and left for a nearby state park. This waterfall was so pretty! It is my favorite that I have seen so far.

We then made the trek up this really cool stairway. It looks pretty, but looks are deceiving. This stairway was a booger to climb as it wraps around the hill. I admit, I had to rest at the top.

Andrew was fascinated with these rocks. They were very thin, pretty sharp, and flew like crazy. They're dangerous!

Just another picture of us : ) We love each other, can you tell?

I really liked how the gorge ran along the pathway. It was so pretty! It made for a very relaxing hike.

Us, again, enjoying our anniversary.

I thought this bridge was really cool. Overall, the whole state park was beautiful. We'll be returning when family members start visiting!

It was such a good anniversary! Like I said, we look forward to the many, many more we will celebrate together. It's been a wonderful year, and I am even more in love with my husband than I was when I married him. I wouldn't trade what we have for the world!



More Eggs!

I have neglected to post about my other nest... you know the one on the porch. Well, I thought that the birds had abandoned this nest. That is, until I saw a robin fly out of it just now. So, I did some investigating.

I am excited to say that they are proud parents as well!

Although Eugene and Ellie Mae are MUCH more fun to watch, I think these eggs are absolutely beautiful. Who needs Easter eggs when I have the prettiest natural ones right outside my door? Literally.

Sadly, the love story for these birds is not quite as romantic as the turtle doves. Let me explain...

"The cup-shaped nest is built by the female, who builds the outer foundation with long coarse grass, twigs, paper and feathers woven together. She lines the inner bowl with mud, smearing it with her breast and later adding fine grass or other soft material to cushion her eggs. The nest is located on the ground or high up in trees, but most commonly 5 to 15 feet above ground in a dense bush, in the crotch of trees, on on window ledges or other human structures. All that is needed for the nest is a firm support and overhead protection from rain. In northern areas, the first brood is generally raised in a coniferous evergreen tree or shrub, and the later one or two broods in a deciduous tree. Usually three to five blue-green eggs are laid and incubated by the female for a period of about 14 days. She continues brooding the chicks while they are very young, then later doing so only during bad weather and at night. The male assists only by collecting material for the nest and sometimes feeding the chicks."

So, these little chicks will have an absentee father except for an occassional meal. That's not very cool. I think he needs to take lessons from Eugene. He is always on patrol and makes sure the area is safe and secure for Ellie Mae and his babies.

So, I guess my female robin will need a name as well, although I am not as attached to her as I am to Eugene and Ellie Mae. Maybe I'll be a bit more on board once there are peeping chicks around. I am sad, though, that she is only brooding 2 eggs instead of the usual 3-5.

Anyway... I guess I missed the day when I put up a sign welcoming all birds, but I'm glad they feel safe enough to hatch their offspring here!