Bald eagle day

I was going to call this post "Bluebird Day", but I think it's early yet for those brilliant little ones. Birds we did see yesterday at the farm:

• A juvenile bald eagle on the "eagle tree" in the hill field
• Full-grown bald eagle on the same tree earlier in the morning
• A pair of loons. The male stood on the dock with his wings held up as if to give his mate some privacy while she took her morning dip in the pond
• Many many jenny wrens with their cheerful upward tails (many many jennies!)
  
• The ubiquitous Canada geese
• A hawk (probably a broad-winged hawk?) carrying bits of lunch
• A skittish robin
  
• A pair of rock pigeons nesting in the machine shed

Unfortunately, I didn't get photos of any of the birds, but it was a storybook day with a wide blue sky and green green fields of pretty babies washed clean by yesterday's rain bath. Cattle are much easier to photograph than birds.
And although no photograph can capture the all 'round huge spinning beauty of the great wide open on such a beautiful spring day, the photo above does a poor job of trying. My baby was awake and alert for our entire walk yesterday, his eyes wide and searching from his stroller. I think maybe he'll be a country mouse like his mama. I hope so.

Happy Easter!

Kicking bag

Henry: Happy, healthy, hale and hearty. Mama: Tired. My husband has been sick, so I've been flying solo on all baby duties. My mom was here to help for several days (which was so nice!), but the middle of the night is still and always my responsibility.

Luckily some of the sweetest moments also occur in the middle of the night. I don't speak to him, since we're trying to get Henry to sleep better and longer, but the baby snuggles up on my chest and buries his dandelion-fluffy head under my chin. After some warm weather last weekend, the past few nights have been very chilly. Perfect for the Kicking Bag for Babies, a free pattern on Ravelry. I used just over two skeins of KPPPM that my brother thoughtfully gave me last Christmas. The warm wool makes this baby even more cuddly there in that dark room as we rock and rock and rock. This bag used to swallow this baby whole, but now he's filling it out more-- he grows and grows when I'm not looking.

I'm hoping that the weather will turn warm again soon and Spring will be here to stay. I'm ready to get this kicking baby out into the fresh air. (And to take some photos with natural light again.)