Inspection Time!

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I haven’t been blogging as often as usual because we’ve been doing some massive construction on our house.  The builder didn’t properly seal a part of our roof when the house was built back in 2001.  This spring we discovered lots of wood rot in a second-story wall, and we ended up having the entire wall pulled out and rebuilt.  Needless to say, it’s been an adventure!  I haven’t touched my camera in weeks.  But as soon as the stucco was applied to our new wall, the neighborhood inspectors showed up to check it out…

Inspection!  iPhone image courtesy of Rich
Inspection! iPhone image courtesy of Rich

It was a family of four Sandhill Cranes — two adults and two juveniles.  Note that the above photo was taken by Rich on his iPhone.  I loved how the wide-angle lens captures the inquiring look of the bird.  Rich said to point out that even an iPhone can take good pictures!

Family-of-Four---Sandhill-Cranes_Backyard_201406111_copyrightJessYarnell
Family of Four – Sandhill Cranes

I grabbed my bigger camera and followed the cranes down to the pond, where they began feeding in a nice dirt pit.  It’s such fun to see a family of four.  So often one or both of the babies doesn’t survive the first few weeks of life.  I quietly told these parents that they were very good parents.  In response, they continued to feed their young ones!

Juvenile Sandhill Crane Head Shot
Juvenile Sandhill Crane Head Shot

Sandhill Cranes are a joy to be around.  They are very protective of their tiny babies, who grow to be almost as tall as their parents within a few short weeks.  But the family will stay together for almost a year.  Although the juveniles are fully capable of feeding themselves, the parents continue to offer tasty morsels at regular intervals.  The kids are willing to accept – after all, why look for your own food when Mom and Dad will do it for you? :)

Wing Stretch
Wing Stretch

If these juveniles aren’t yet flying, they are very close to doing so.  After their grub snack, they headed off down the road, and the juveniles started flapping their wings.  I half expected them to take off flying.  Maybe soon I will see them soaring over the house…hopefully they will let me take a picture or two! :)

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