Mainely Write

Mabel is about to fly today!  Maybe! Check out the Osprey Cam today.  Tory already flew off.  They will return to the nest for a while before migrating south.  They have a long way to go, so after the first few weeks of August they will be gone, heading off to their winter homes in places like Jamaica, Mexico or Florida. There are a number of osprey nests around the area that you can see from the highway, from the river, and from the bridge.  They are in the tops of trees or on very expensive platforms built specifically for the osprey nests.  Sometimes it takes years for a pair of osprey to build on a new platform.  The pair stay together for their lifetime, though they "vacation" separately when they fly south.  They return to the same nest each year, returning to the same spot within days of each other. They are fun to watch, so a few places have put cameras close to nests (which doesn't seem to bother them in the least).  Osprey are protected, so there are fines

I still remember the first cake I made all by myself.  I was probably 12?  It was my mom's birthday, and she was at work.  I was the "babysitter" for my three siblings at the time.  I remember thinking what a surprise it would be if I made her a birthday cake to surprise her with when she got home.  I had made frosting with my mother's help before, and I'd seen her make cakes.  Of course, this was before cake mixes and canned icings were available, or at least not in our household. The cake turned out...interesting.  When I think back on it, it was kind of a disaster, but I remember it as not only funny, but a bit of a creative problem-solving event.  For some reason, I really didn't see it as a disaster.  It was a "go with the flow", "one mistake after another" type of project.  I'm so glad it happened. Wish Mom was still around today...I'd love to make her another birthday cake! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She won't

We have a few osprey cams in Maine for viewing the young in the nests and their parents bringing them food - fish, that is. The huge nests built of very uncomfortable looking sticks are found up on top of dead trees, bridges, power line poles - any high perch near a river. This camera is in Bremen, Main e, and has some month olds.  I'm blogging from my car on a road trip.... Just saw a momma duck and her ducklings trying to cross the road.  The car in front of us never flinched. Just ran over two or three. We and everyone else went around them.  I think she made it with the rest.  I am going to assume the person that ran over them just wasn't paying attention and didn't see them until too late. Momma duck was frantic trying to decide which way to go.  I hate when that happens. Anyway, enjoy the osprey, while I try to get this out of my mind....