Duck Weekend

April 6th was General Conference weekend. As we sat around watching both Sunday sessions of conference, I had some time to scope the lake. It has really come up a lot over the past few days. That day the highest part of the lake was just past the east end of the house, and a perfect view from the back windows of the great room. Keep in mind that the lake is still frozen, so as the temperatures rise, and the lake fills from the several streams that feed it, the only clear water is on the tips of the three fingers of the lake, one of which goes right by us. So, with the

temp hovering around 30 degrees and snow flurries off an on all day, with periods of sunshine, we had over two hundred birds behind the house on the lake and in the marshy areas, feeding. I began cataloguing all the different varieties. About 14 American White Pelicans, dozens of Canadian geese, 

tens of American Widgeon, 

tens of Mallards, twenties of Northern Pintail, 

twenties of Green-Winged Teal, 

twenties of Gadwall, 

about 6 Cinnamon Teal, 

about ten Ring-Necked Duck, 

two Northern Shovelers, 

three western grebes, 

two Common Mergansers, 

three Red-Breasted Mergansers, 

3 Canvasbacks, 

two Redheads, 

and ..... a pair of WOOD DUCKS, make and female. So beautiful. They only pass through Utah, on their way north, but they graced us with their presence, and hung around most of the icy day. The sun came out around 3 p.m. and they looked great in the sun.

Watching over it all for a couple of hours was a Pacific Peregrine Falcon, 

sitting in the tree behind the house. Amazing day. Truly, all the possible ducks that could have passed through our area, did,

 except the Blue-Winged Teal.

It was so great watching that huge group of ducks swim about, feed and interact.

Extra groceries

Yesterday, Price and I stopped by Smith's for a few things after his water polo practice in Ogden.  

(I love the Valley Market in Eden, but whenever I go to Ogden I try to stop at a "real" grocery store for things I can't find at the Market).  

While I was standing in the checkout line, I remembered I had forgotten to get glue.  I instructed Price that when the people in front of us had finished putting their groceries on the belt he should put down one of those separator bars and start unloading our cart.  When I returned, he had unloaded everything and the checker was just about finished.  So I swiped my ATM card, payed for the items, and we put the bagged groceries in our cart and headed to the car where we unloaded them and drove home.

When we got home we carried the bags into the kitchen and I noticed there was a bag of items that weren't mine.  Then another bag, another, and yet another.  Somehow I ended up with not only my groceries, but someone else's groceries as well.  Of course I felt terrible that I had acquired someone's food until I looked at my receipt and saw that I had payed for all these unwanted items:

3 cans chicken broth

2 cans evaporated milk

chicken bouillon cubes

strawberry jello

2 packages cream cheese (cheap brand)

2 packages margarine

bag of lettuce

asparagus

6 bananas (I had already bought three)

2 packages cubed beef steak (no idea how to cook that)

box of strawberries

some yummy bread

2 loaves of sliced wheat bread

When I asked Price how this could possibly have happened, of course, he had no idea.  And on the receipt these items and my food were all mixed in.  It wasn't like these were all the first items and mine were the last.  How Price managed this I do not know.  But I will be more careful next time I ask him to unload the cart.

Mother Nature's April Fools

Today is April 1, 2008.  This is how much snow we still have!  At 9:00 this morning it was 16 degrees.  The good news is the lake is starting to fill up again!