Interesting Pictures

First, I need to make an announcement about my 

right wrist/hand. 

You all know I broke the wrist on December 9, in a fall. 

Not on ice... clumsy. 

My brothers called me "Grace" while I was growing up. 

Anyway.... tomorrow I go for my first therapy 

assessment.  I have had the cast off a week, but a brace on, 

except for a bit four times a day.  I sleep in it, it feels better

with support.  I was stunned to know that the hand was very weak, and 

the wrist even weaker, and I still have some swelling. 

So, therapy next week and the following two, it appears.  

All of this is by way of explanation for the lack of 

posts and the lack of pictures.  I can't hold the big camera up 

for any length of time.  That will come back with time. 

Here are some pictures from the game camera.  I have always enjoyed using a game 

camera, whether in our pasture, or now, at the Ag. 

These were taken two nights ago, and last night. 

I had just had a conversation with the education director 

yesterday, and told him I never saw deer, even when I came early or late. 

Cracks me up, because I found this on the camera when I got 

home that day.  What I do is leave the camera there, and change 

out cards.  Then I reset the camera, moving it around from day to day. 

I had seen their tracks, but had never actually seen one. 

The beautiful fox came soon on her tail. 

Then a raccoon. 

A possum, running fast somewhere. 

A skunk. 

And then the fox again. 

This was early this morning. 

He checked out the woodchuck's holes very carefully, 

and I could tell this morning that he had dug at those holes, there 

was fresh earth outside.  Maybe it's a vixen, looking for a den. 

PLEASE DON'T PICK THERE. 

This bunny is EVERYWHERE.  I see it almost every night. 

It's no longer afraid of the camera eye going off. 

We have had clouds for days, I am thoroughly tired of them. 

This juvenile eagle was at Wyandotte County Lake 

yesterday.  I could not get a good picture of him, but he 

was dive-bombing the ducks bobbing on the choppy water. 

This little flock of coots was rocking and rolling. 

You know I love my geese. 

Can You Believe January is Half Over?

February will be here before we know it! 

I have been watching large flocks of geese and ducks 

flying overhead the last two weeks... even though we have had gray days, 

they are moving back and forth.  The Kansas City Star did a long story 

on the weekend about "resident geese" versus "migrating geese", and 

how a company employs Border Collies to keep the geese moving 

so they don't get used to staying on the local golf courses, etc. 

I still love them, even though friends of mine call them "flying rats". 

Keith loved them, too. 

We have had too many days like this lately: 

When the roads are swallowed in fog. 

I watch for ducks with the groups of geese on the little pasture ponds. 

See the muskrat nest behind the ducks?  This is the little cow pond I always show you, but it 

is very low right now. 

I came across these girls, too, and had to grab the camera to get them through the windshield.  There were four more, they had already gone into the woods.  By the time I went down the road, they had disappeared in the underbrush. 

And this young guy was down around the corner of the road, and likewise taken through the window. 

I drove on so as not to scare him. 

I will get back to good photos soon, when I can lift the camera.  My hand is still too weak, but I do go for my first therapy appointment on Friday, and am wearing a brace.  I still 

can't lift anything really heavy. 

Sunday morning in the gloom, I heard a lot of birds behind me, and turned around. 

I had been watching this: 

Not a mallard. 

Landing gear started to come down as they circled the pond. 

Mallards were with them. 

The brakes come on all the way to the water. 

We have had very little of this in the last few days. 

60 tomorrow, and then 30s the rest of the week... Kansas weather, 

you gotta love it. 

I'll hopefully be back to posting regularly when I can hold the darn camera! 

The Results Are In

And....the Ancestry Test came back. 

Guess what?

I should have trusted my adoption papers.

62% Ireland

29% Great Britain

5% Scandinavian

The remainder : 

Trace regions. 

The weird thing is, my parents were told I was 

Irish and Welsh.  They were spot on. 

The five percent Scandinavian, according to 

Ancestry, is the influence of the Vikings. 

But the really, really fascinating thing about the whole 

test is the fact that my DNA brought up 

334 fourth cousins or closer! 

This fascinates me. 

You see, these are REAL cousins, people 

who are related to me by blood. 

However, I still have to contact Ancestry to find out 

how I build a separate tree for blood relatives while 

building my tree for my "real" family. 

Some of the DNA relations (I don't know 

what else to call them right now) are as close as 

3rd cousins, and they have pages and NAMES. 

I would show you the pie chart, but Ancestry has it 

blocked to copying. 

I'm glad I did it, but I need to call them in the next 

few days to see how to rectify this whole thing. 

Fascinating! 

I'm glad I did it.  

Where Does the Time Go?

My last post was December 19, and I don't know where the time 

went. 

My apologies. 

I still have this: 

I am a little over 3 weeks in, and will go until the 

15th, when it will be exrayed and the 

cast (I pray) removed. 

It is a pain in the TUSH.  I have trouble 

opening things, and holding things, but oddly enough, 

I can type. 

We did have this: 

Don't look at that gold Santa on the mantle, he was replaced by a white one.  

That's son Jim, daughter in law Amy, and then, from left... 

Chris, Nathan, Jacob, Madison, and in front, Paiton and Jax. 

So good to be with them at a time that was very hard for me. 

Our Yoder family Christmas party the previous day was 

snowed out by a slow-moving ice and snow storm, making driving 

dangerous.  I was so grateful Andrea called to cancel.  The pile 

of gifts on the wall by the door was collected by Amber and Jesse, 

and distributed to the family the following weekend. 

Here's the adjusted mantle, and I have to say, I liked it a lot better.  I was about the 

only one that enjoyed it, too. 

The reason for the season, early Christmas morning at church. 

Except for one year when we were literally snowed in at the old place, 

I have managed to go to church every single Christmas morning. 

Here was our family Christmas present. 

I went to see my dear Keith at the cemetery, and we 

got his beautiful stone for Christmas. 

As I laid the cross on his grave, a big flock of geese came out of the 

fog overhead, and went over his grave.  Keith loved to watch geese, 

this would have pleased him so much. 

I am still feeding on the deck, but am having to vacuum regularly. 

Not an ideal situation. 

Someone watches bird tv every morning. 

The three little Sheets boys came with their parents Amber and Jesse, to pick up all the presents. 

I could NOT get a good shot, they were moving so fast! 

Keith adored these little boys! 

(Hayden, Jace, Carson) 

I am seeing small ducks and geese all of the sudden, on all of the local small and large ponds. 

Geese are everywhere.  Tomorrow I am going to try to get to Wyandotte County Lake, where I understand there is a huge flock of snow geese right now. 

Could global warming be driving the birds south already?  

We are actually going to have some prolonged cold weather this week, starting tomorrow. 

I did see some snow geese way out in a field off the levee on Tonganoxie Road. 

On my way to church Saturday afternoon, I saw two crows in 

a field.  As I went by, they went up, but I caught another movement. 

Here is what they were watching: 

Then, Sunday, I came home to this: 

That's the Coopers Hawk that has been hanging around.  

First time I have seen it on the deck!

My new year's resolution is to blog more often!