Finding the Birding Groove at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

I have never experienced such a good place to introduce birding to kids as the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Florida's Sanibel Island. This was our third spring break visit to Sanibel in four years. Every year we bike half the Refuge's wildlife drive loop. This year coincided with a time when T was showing even more interest in birds. He is six, way into nature, has a growing interest in birds and just got some kids binoculars that work really well for him.

Osprey on nest platform along the Rabbit Road area bike trail.

We picked a morning that would include low tide.  Thus many of the wading birds would be feeding in the exposed mud flats and shallow waters. Our full group went- Hillary, her mom, me, T, H, and Hillary's sister's family of four. The place we stay is an easy 1.5 mile bike ride from Ding Darling. So we warmed up on bird watching by stopping and watching the Ospreys and their nest on the nesting platform along the bike trail. It takes a while to successfully look through binoculars and get the desired bird in your view. So this was good practice for all.

T watching the birds at the first stop on Wildlife Drive.

Once we got to the refuge we biked right onto Wildlife Drive. We passed a Little Blue Heron just off the drive.  I didn't announce its presence as parents and kids were busy chatting and I knew there would be plenty of birds ahead. Sure enough we got to the first viewing area and saw scads of birds on the large open water and exposed mud flats. After viewing a few herons and such, we made our way over to the spotting scope that a Refuge volunteer had set up. While H was looking through it, T somehow saw a different bird flying far away along the edge of the mangroves. He said, "there's a Roseate Spoonbill!" He had been looking at the bird book before, so I assumed that he recognized it from the book. The Refuge volunteer glassed the flying bird and said, "you're right, that is a Roseate Spoonbill!  I haven't seen one of those for several weeks."  T, of course got a quite a thrill out of that, mentioning it several times over the next few days. 

"Squishing" for fiddler crabs along Wildlife Drive.

Once again the rest of the group got ahead of me as I scanned for more birds.  T was hanging with me and his six-year old attention span was reaching its limit. I was little surprised, actually, but the bumpy road turned out to be his chief complaint.  He proclaimed he was not going any further. So we took a break.  After various attempts to take his mind off the road and how far we were from the rest of the group, I suggested he go search for fiddler crabs long the water's edge.  He walked down to the muddy area and quickly delighted in his ability to drive fiddler crabs out of their burrows as he stepped along side them.  He walked back and forth a few more times and was ready to go with  his attitude and attention rejuvenated. 

From here on T was really getting in the groove of wildlife watching.  I was teaching him more about recognizing key field marks for identifying birds.  What size is it? What shape and color bill does it have? What color are its wings, its belly, legs, etc.  As he was already studying the different parts of birds in first grade, he was really primed to recognize field marks.  Plus, his young eyes mean he can see really well.  The sign posts of birds commonly seen along different sections of Wildlife Drive were helpful too. 

Of course it was the alligator sighting on our way back that was especially exciting.  T asked for my phone and took about twenty pictures of the sunning alligator, a spider on its web, and his alligator-mimicking dad. 

Finding an alligator was of course a major goal for the kids.  So I called Hillary and H who were already at the visitor's center.  They rushed back to see it much to the delight of H. The pressure was off now, we saw an alligator. 

A long time (1 hour? maybe 1.5 hours) after T proclaimed he was not going any further, we made it back to the visitor center near the beginning of Wildlife Drive.  At that point T realized that he left his helmet back at the cut-off trail where we saw the Pied-bill Grebe.  Without a better option handy, I told him to wait for me at the bike racks while I took the 20 some minute round trip to retrieve his helmet.  When I returned I found him recording what we had seen in his journal.  What a wonderful scene to return to! 

Thinking we were mostly done for the day, we headed back to our place.  But T was completely in the bird watching groove by now.  We stopped again to watch the Ospreys on the nesting platform for about 10 minutes.  We watched a few of them circle overhead and got a great view of the distinct shape of an Anhinga flying overhead. Then we spotted a Great Egret and a Night Heron (yellow-crowned, if I remember correctly).  From too tired to go any further, to totally grooving on finding birds, it was a morning to remember.  What a treat to see T experiencing the rush of bird watching that birders live for. 

Neighborhood Youth Ski League

Theo and I raced the Winther Kangaroo trike the five blocks from our house to catch the #7 bus to Theodore Wirth Park for today's Minnesota Youth Ski League (MYSL).  Just as we locked the "Roo" up, the bus passed.  Bummer.  No MYSL for us this week.  Theo was a good sport about it.  By this point the snow was really coming down.  He said, "I'll just ski home".  I rode behind him as his sag wagon.  Really enjoying the novelty of skiing through the neighborhood in the beautiful fresh snow, Theo skied on to his friend's house where we stopped to say hello and then headed back home.  He probably got just as much skiing in without any car/bus time.  Nice! Back home, he reported to Hillary that he practiced his star turn, pizza stop, and "shuffle, shuffle, glide".  Call it the Neighborhood Youth Ski League for us today.

Freeze, thaw

My bike got marooned in my bike locker at work when the sub-zero temps froze the upper Midwest  over a week ago. I put my bike on the bus last night to get it home and happily awoke to a "balmy" temperature of 16 degrees F.  So I went for the bike commute.  It was fantastic.  And I still got words of disbelief from co-workers, "whoa isn't it way too cold?"  "Yeah, but it's over 20 degrees warmer than it was two mornings ago," I replied. 

Here are a few images of the the frozen Mississippi as I crossed it this morning.  What a cool pattern showing the ice chunks from the last thaw all frozen in place.  Compare these photos with the one in the post from two and a half weeks ago. 

Bussing it to MN Youth Ski League

Both boys are doing Minnesota Youth Ski League this year at Minneapolis' beautiful Theodore Wirth Park.  Being 7.7 miles away from home and involving skis, poles, boots, and winter layers, it presents some logistical challenges for our car-free family.  The biggest challenge is getting all four of us there.  Only Theo did ski league last year meaning that he and Hillary or I could often get a ride with friends.  But that is not so possible to do with four of us going.  Fortunately the #7 bus leaves 5 blocks from our house and ends at the park's ski chalet!  Alas, the full one-way trip takes about an hour.  For those accustomed to getting there within 15-20 minutes by car, an hour may seem absurd.  As usual, we are doing our best to make the most of the bus time.  Here are a few shots from last week's and this week's trip to the MN Youth Ski League at Theodore Wirth Park.

 The crew on the #7 bus with skis and poles stashed aside the seats and Theo's tongued stashed in its typical response to the camera.

 Theo taking advantage of the time on the bus to do some of his math homework.

 Our bus arriving at the Theodore Wirth Chalet. It is amazing that we can get to this bit of winter wonderland on a bus!  Yes, they even make snow for the slopes and trails here.

 

 Henry toughing it out in today's single digit temperatures today.  He hauled his skis up the steps and the slippery hill. 

 MYSL emphasizes fun.  That includes bending over to pick up stuffed animals as you ski. 

 Theo's group today.  Doesn't it look cold?

 Theo skiing the loop back to the Chalet for the well-deserved hot chocolate.

 Hillary with her ski buddy. 

The perks of the bus:  Henry called it quits after 35 minutes in today's cold.  Instead of waiting for Hillary and Theo to finish, Henry and I caught the earlier bus home.  He got in a 25 minute nap and I got to read the newspaper.  Now that's Riding Phrius.

Winter Commuting on New Wheels

Today marked my second day of winter bike commuting since the big 11 inch snow fell on the Twin Cities about a month ago. I'm feeling a little out of shape in the legs but loving the cold temperature invigoration and thinking space my bike commute provides. 

This view of the Mississippi River Gorge along my commute route is a far cry from the one taken during the autumn picture below!  Ahh, the joys of experiencing the seasons from the bike lane.

All this has been made possible by my new 16-year old Specialized Hardrock mountain bike that I got off Craig's list.   Its condition is a far cry from my previous 18-year old Specialized mountain bike, I.N.D.Y. (It's Not Dead Yet). With its terribly rusted gears, worn out bearings, and its propensity for large maintenance bills, it now ought to be named, I.I.D.N. (It is Dead Now).  I will strip some parts of I.I.D.N and donate the rest to a great new organization called SPOKES where hopefully its frame will be renewed as the core of a new bike.

Holiday Light Tour (aka last night with the borrowed car)

Hillary was determined to drive around with the boys to see neighborhood holiday light displays. Between that and it being our last night with the borrowed car, we were off on the drive after a quick cheese and bean quesadilla dinner. We ended up driving along Saint Paul's stately Summit Avenue which also serves as my bike commute route to work. We saw some impressive lights but only one light-choked, somewhat tacky yard. By that time both kids had fallen asleep. So we suspended the tour to stop by the nearby Whole Foods and pick up a few critical groceries, namely the cereal bars the boys apparently like so much. Hillary shopped like a seasoned car-free mama.  She got a whole case of the cereal bars at 10% off.  We should be set for months.

The unexpected perk of the tour was that I got to assess the condition of the Summit Avenue bike lane. Some chunky icy/snowy sections persist, but otherwise it was pretty good. After over three weeks without bike commuting due to an 11 inch snowstorm, I am itching to ride again.

After Summit Avenue we drove through our south Minneapolis neighborhood and saw some fine displays, especially this great arrangement of ice lanterns.  As Hillary took photos from the car, the homeowner waved through his window as she waved back.  Home sweet home. 

Lucky for us, the kids transferred right into bed without waking up. 

Home for the Holidays...with a car

For the first time in our 12 years in Minnesota we did not travel to spend Christmas with our families. We avoided the expensive airline tickets, the hassle of holiday travel, the two-way lugging/shipping of gifts, the wonderful yet sometimes exhausting visiting with friends and family.  For the first time in our lives and in our kids' lives, we could stay home and begin to nurture our own holiday traditions.    We hosted our third annual Christmas party, we got a full-size Christmas tree, we went to the family Christmas Eve service at our church, we figured out where to hang the stockings, we addressed the challenge of Santa getting into our chimney-less house (thanks be to the "Santa Key").  We took advantage of the perks of "FaceTime" to share our Christmas experiences and favorite gifts with our family members in Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and Canada. We also got to do more things around town.  We went as a family to see the fantastic "China's Terracotta Warriors" exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.  Hillary and I got to see "A Christmas Carol" at the Guthrie for the first time.  But best of all, we just got to hang out as a family.  Theo was busy making his own Christmas cards and making and wrapping gifts.  He and I got to play carols on the piano.  Theo is mastering "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and "Jingle Bells".  I loved just watching the kids play with their new toys, games, and puzzles for hours on Christmas and the days after.  And of course we got to play too.

 All of this would not have been the same without having some family with us. We were blessed to have Hil's mom and her partner John with us for our first Christmas in Minnesota.  They helped so much in making this a special time for us and the kids.  And they helped us get some time away from the kids.

We also have a loaner car for about ten days.  With the cold weather and snow it has been a great gift!  Thanks so much to Jim and Emily who graciously loaned us their car while they traveled for the holidays.  And thanks to everyone else who similarly offered the use of their car while they were away during this time. On those bitterly cold day and nights around Christmas it was nice to not be waiting at the bus stop after a Guthrie show, or able to run up to Matthews Park so Theo could try out his new snowboard. We even managed to avoid the common pitfall of trying to do too much just because we had access to wheels. Many days were still spent just hanging out with each other at home. And that was the greatest gift of all.

 

Putting the Christmas Eve star on the beautiful Advent calendar made by our friend Martha Z. 

Theo sporting his snazzy Christmas vest at the family Christmas Eve service at church.  

Mormor gave the boys tickets to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" at the Children's Theater Company. 

Hillary gave me these awesome Batman super hero boxer shorts.  Yes, they even have a cape behind!  The boys got quite a kick out of them, especially when their powers allowed me to zoom them around the house on my shoulder.