Easter!

Rick and I hosted Easter Dinner this year! I made a French Dip (with au jus for dipping) on toasted onion buns and Rick made garlicky asparagus. So Good! 

And for dessert I made this triple berry Trifle! SO PRETTY! 

I think the original recipe I had called for pound cake and vanilla pudding, but I always end up using angel food cake and banana pudding. Because I like fruit with my fruit.

Bloodroot

White-breasted nuthatch in silhouette - he was right into the sun!

Dutchman's Breeches!

I don't know what Phil is pointing at, but it looks like he and Sarah are lost in the woods.

Sarah and Phil on a HUGE tree stump! It was sort of like two trees that had grown together because the part Sarah is behind is still "intact" and formed a solid ring. I told her to jump inside but she was struggling.

So Phil helped her. 

Sarah in a tree stump

And for the first time in like twenty years - A George Family Photo!!
We had to take this twice because Sarah and I are sitting on the tiny tiny armrests of our bench and in the first picture I'm falling off... 

McFarland Park

Spotted Sandpiper

Mourning Dove

Chickadee

Ring billed Ducks

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

Belted Kingfisher

Round-lobed hepatica

Birdwatching after work

After I finished my Saturday morning shift Ricky and I went birdwatching!

Song Sparrows in the tall grass

Song Sparrow

Huge Snapping Turtle! That pointy yellow thing is his tail sticking up!

Painted turtles! They always all want to be on the same log

Female Downy Woodpecker

female Downy Woodpecker

Coot!

the lake at McFarland is always full of snails

Coots

Bluebird!

female Bluebird

Peterson Pits

Rick and Charles spent a beautiful Friday afternoon fishing at Peterson Pits. I went with them to do some birdwatching and found a whole pond of migrating ducks.

Rick and Charles and their fishing equipment

Rick's 1st fish of the year! Photo courtesy of Charles and his phone (I was off watching ducks...)

Buffleheads!

I believe this is a female ring-billed duck

Ring-billed ducks coming in for a landing!

Northern Shoveler (the ones in the center with the full green heads) and Green Winged Teals (the ones with he copper an green heads)

Northern Shoveler

Painted Turtles!

Ruby Crowned Kinglet!

Ring Billed Duck taking off! Love this picture!

Muskrat! He's so cute!

Canadian Geese

Rick and Charles fishing

BAT!!

Frog

Rick and Charles fishing some more

Rick's big carp (snagged by fin)

Rick's Carp

White-breasted nuthatch

Fox Sparrow

Robin

super photogenic Robin

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Brown Creeper

COOTS!!!

Rollo!

Ricky got a new phone.
He took this great picture of Rollo last night!

Card Games

Our friends Ming Feng and Pei taught Rick and I a new card game last night (called Hold 7) after a wonderful Hot Pot!

They also taught us what happens when you LOSE a round of cards!

Apparently, when you lose a round of cards in China you have to stick a piece of paper to your face so all your friends can laugh at you.
When you Win a round a cards, you get to choose to either take off a piece a paper, or make the loser wear another piece.

We spent the whole night sticking paper on the loser.

Pei and I did not have good cards.