Hello, Readers

and

Hello, Weekend!

It's the first weekend in February.

Why not celebrate with a little snow?

It snowed at the Lamp Post.

Shocking, I know.

The groundhog said we are due for more, too!

It's really not getting to me yet.

Hubby does the driveway and a machine helps do the heavy work.

I'm fine with snow through the end of February.

Once the calendar page turns to March, I'm ready to be done.

Sam loves to play outside in the winter.

He loves ice!

He's got a weapon of choice at any given time.

Sam and Grandpa made this neat igloo.

It should be ready for habitation this weekend.

It's one of those little kid climbing domes, covered up with tarps.

the doorways blocked open with his sleds.

Sam and Mother Nature have been piling snow around it all week!

He's been waiting to build an igloo all winter long.

Better late in the season, than never, Sam.

Kenyan and crew refused to let go of the fact that Green Bay

missed their chance at a Super Bowl ring.

She's still pouting.

Football is over,

and outdoor basketball is out,

so we've moved things into the gym.

Here is Sam getting comfortable with this directive,

"Go under the hoop and put your hands up."

He has a GREAT coach.

She has a knack with kids.

Even ones who are on the receiving end of their first elbow.

My fellas went to go see the Harlem Globetrotters this week.

Now Sam has moved on from law enforcement as his dream career,

to something much more achievable.

We start career planning very early in schools.

Sam's even got his ideal work environment all planned out, too.

Notice the two he DIDN'T circle.

As promised, I'll share the what captured Ellen's attention,

when I got this popular capture of my daughter last week.

It got the most likes out of any photo I've ever posted.

She was working on a contest entry for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

This is Ellen's idea for a wildlife stamp.

This is the short eared owl.

Apparently it's endangered and Eloise just found out about its plight.

Better late than never, Mr. Owl.

My girl is going to get you some much needed attention.

Speaking of attention,

over something that most people think is for the birds nonetheless--

Natalie drank the Kool-Aid!

She exercised outside twice this week!

They say birds of a feather flock together.
Here is my favorite colony of penguins surviving Tuesday's workout.

It was 29 degrees and beautiful outside.
It took me 40 years to really enjoy the winter in Erie.
Better Late Than Never.

We played like kids climbing over the snow mountain (range).
This kid loved it the most!
It is a rarity that Natalie strikes up conversation.
As I was driving home, she tapped my arm to get my attention.
"Had fun, Momma,"
said Natalie in her monotone voice.
She spoke for us all that night.
We did have fun.

Spending time outside in the snow and cold,

really makes me think about birds in winter.

My God.

How do they survive?

This is the giant nest in a wreath that hangs on the Lamp Post front porch.

I see the twine from my Christmas wrap.

As well as a cap from my art project.

Birds are cool.

I found this goose in the high school parking lot last weekend.

He was all alone, and spotted over a two day period.

Several other people saw him, too.

We called animal rescue and they directed us to a place to call for injured birds.

Several people urged me to leave it be.

To them I reply this:

I'll remember that the next time I find you laying in the woods

with a busted ankle from your cross country skiing incident.

I'll tromp right on by and state, "survival of the fittest."

The loner goose, I named Eloise disappeared.

I'd like to think she eventually joined up with her flock, after being lost for just a little while.

You found your way home, Feathered Eloise.

Better Late Than Never.

Here is a story, ten years cold, but I resurrected it in my lesson plans this week.

It is the tale of Pink Floyd--a flamingo that wandered away from a bird aviary in Salt Lake City.

If you prefer to watch cool stories about adaptation to environment,

click the link below.

Video on Pink Floyd

If you prefer to read cool stories about adaptation to environment,

read this chunk copied from Wikipedia.

Pink Floyd the flamingo[edit]

A solitary Chilean flamingo named Pink Floyd wintered at the Great Salt Lake. He escaped from Salt Lake City's Tracy Aviary in 1987 and lived in the wild, eating brine shrimp and socializing with gulls and swans. (Pink Floyd is often referred to as a "he", although the bird's gender is not actually known.)^[38] A group of Utah residents suggested petitioning the state to release more flamingos in an effort to keep Floyd company and as a possible tourist attraction.^[39] Wildlife biologists resisted these efforts, saying that deliberate introduction of a non-native species would be ecologically unsound and might have detrimental consequences.^[40] Pink Floyd was last seen in Idaho (where he was known to migrate) in 2005. He has not been seen since then and is presumed not to have survived the winter of 2005-2006.^[41]^[42]

And out of all the Better Late Than Never stories of the week,

this one takes the prize.