Well the new Grandkid finally showed up. On March 17th, St Patrick's Day, Edward David Nimz, assisted by the probing and coaxing of Mom, Dad and the hospital staff, made his entrance into our lives. His late arrival (11 days later than predicted) made for some interesting moments in our household. Grandma Jo had been fully prepared for weeks, ready to swoop up to Minnesota to offer her grandmotherly support. The trunk of the car was filled with suitcases and gifts for both male and female infants. Not knowing the sex ahead of time necessitated purchasing both pink and blue stuff. (Anyone having a baby girl soon?) Ready to heat and eat meals were prepared. Finally the call came around 3am on the 17th. I managed to restrain Jo for a few hours before we made our Northern dash. (As an example of how hastily we left, after our return Jo went to make some toast for breakfast Saturday morning only to find a slice already in the toaster. Seems as how it had been forgotten in the rush.) I guess I'd better include the vital statistics. (to a man that usually consists of, "It's a boy!") For those who need a little more info - Edward David, 8 pounds 5 ounces, 20 and a half inches tall, 10 fingers, 10 toes and strong lungs. He likes long walks in the woods, happy movies, laughter and candlelight dinners of Italian food. (At least that what his ad on eHarmony says) After Jo was satisfied that Eddie knew who she was and that spoiling classes would start next week, we returned to Fennimore (and 3 day old toast).
Now what could compete with anything as exciting as a new born grandchild? Well our trip home came close. Anyone who visits this blog very often knows my thing for eagles. We started down The River Friday afternoon hoping to spot an eagle or two fishing in the spots where the ice had broken up. We saw one, then another and another and another. I mean there were eagles in the trees, on the ice, and in the air. Some were just sitting around while others were performing what seemed to be a courting ritual. As well as spotting all these eagles we saw at least a dozen nests along the way. Considering that these were visible from the road one can only imagine how many more are stashed away out of sight. I'd say that those big guys are no longer endangered. I have a lot of excuses for not taking any photos but the real reason was that on the way up on Wednesday morning, I had seen a whole bunch of eagles in a back water area at the Minnesota/Wisconsin border and I was hoping to get back there while it was still light. When I made it back to the area I certainly wasn't disappointed. There on the ice in the trees and in the air there was easily a hundred or more eagles. I assume that this is a migration coming up from farther South heading up to their Summer quarters. Naturally the view, at least for photography, was somewhat obscured by twigs and brush making focusing very difficult. (It would have been an ideal situation for my blog friend evilbear with his new wideangle lens) We parked and just watched for a little while then continued on home feeling pretty satisfied, a new grandkid and tons of eagles. That all adds up to a really great couple of days.I finally finished painting the laboratory and have started preparing for a week long stay with Eddy and family next week. Grandma Jo, who is happily splitting her time between Saffie and Eddie, has gotten her second wind and is ready to face the challenge. Hey! Spoiling is no easy job!
Little Eddie - The Early Days
Mom, Dad and Eddie (Sally, Uncas and Edward)
Sammy doesn't know what to make of this new arrival.
Grandma Jo at work.
The Grandpa touch. (How about those new glasses)
A few of our fine feathered friends.
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The pea pod is finally ripe!
Well the new Grandkid finally showed up. On March 17th, St Patrick's Day, Edward David Nimz, assisted by the probing and coaxing of Mom, Dad and the hospital staff, made his entrance into our lives. His late arrival (11 days later than predicted) made for some interesting moments in our household. Grandma Jo had been fully prepared for weeks, ready to swoop up to Minnesota to offer her grandmotherly support. The trunk of the car was filled with suitcases and gifts for both male and female infants. Not knowing the sex ahead of time necessitated purchasing both pink and blue stuff. (Anyone having a baby girl soon?) Ready to heat and eat meals were prepared. Finally the call came around 3am on the 17th. I managed to restrain Jo for a few hours before we made our Northern dash. (As an example of how hastily we left, after our return Jo went to make some toast for breakfast Saturday morning only to find a slice already in the toaster. Seems as how it had been forgotten in the rush.) I guess I'd better include the vital statistics. (to a man that usually consists of, "It's a boy!") For those who need a little more info - Edward David, 8 pounds 5 ounces, 20 and a half inches tall, 10 fingers, 10 toes and strong lungs. He likes long walks in the woods, happy movies, laughter and candlelight dinners of Italian food. (At least that what his ad on eHarmony says) After Jo was satisfied that Eddie knew who she was and that spoiling classes would start next week, we returned to Fennimore (and 3 day old toast).
Little Eddie - The Early Days
Mom, Dad and Eddie (Sally, Uncas and Edward)
Sammy doesn't know what to make of this new arrival.
Grandma Jo at work.
The Grandpa touch. (How about those new glasses)
A few of our fine feathered friends. 
In my last post I mentioned that lately Eagle sightings are outnumbering Deer sightings. Saturday, after crossing The River into Iowa to drop off a few bucks at a Riverboat Casino, we decided to return home taking the road south on the Iowa side of The River. With all of the recent thawing and field fertilizing, I figured that we would encounter dozens of Eagles. Uh uh! Nary a stinkin' bald head in sight. But, the warmer weather did bring out the deer. Fair enough, lost some bucks, saw some bucks. (Well at least this one group of about a bakers dozen.)
and oatmeal beat it all together and, voila! cookies. Except this time, you might say, the oatmeal beat me. I found the friendly round container, with the smiley Quaker guy on it, back in a corner on the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet. I reached it, touched it and dumped it right on my head. Did you know that capturing flying oatmeal is similar to corralling runaway feathers. I did manage to collect enough for my recipe off the counter top. (The full 3 cupfuls that I needed) Then proceeded to gather up the rest of the three or four hundred pounds that was scattered around the kitchen (and some in the dining room). In an effort to keep it off of the floor, I managed to catch large amounts in my shirt pocket, down the back of my neck, in my shoes and in the waistband of my slacks. After a final cleanup with the vacuum, broom and snow blower I got back to baking and in half the time it took to clean up I had six about dozen crispy, golden cookies. Needless to say, the cookies led a very short life but the memory of them lives on with the discovery of little oat flakes here and there around the house. The other day one of my neighbors dropped by to ask if I had lost some oatmeal lately. Seems dog came home covered with it. Beats me?
