July 8th: Cleveland, Burlington, VT and the North Channel

I had my annual physical in Cleveland. I really like my primary care physician so I stay with him even though I am not in Cleveland that much. But I always combine it with a visit with my sister Julie and her husband Jim. All my results came back positive and my doctor said I was very healthy!  

Julie has become proficient driving the handicap accessible van. She drove us to see Jim at the Slovene home where he was just finishing up his physical therapy. He is doing well and now has returned home. 

While I was at Julie's I borrowed her car and discovered her right front headlight was out. I was going to buy a replacement but Julie suggested maybe a wire came loose. She had some work done on the fender and thought it might be related. Sure enough, the wire connector had been taken loose and wasn't put back on.  Easy fix!

I usually see some deer in Julie's back yard. This trip I saw a deer with a very young fawn. Note the white spots.

Terri enjoying her balcony

Next it was time to fly to Burlington to visit with my sister Terri's family. They have a beautiful home with a great balcony overlooking a wooded area. 

Annika

Hiking and birding are always on the agenda. Also, watching my great niece Annika and great nephew Owen participate in sporting events. This time we drove to New Haven, Connecticut to watch Annika's basketball tournament. Her team won the tournament!

 There were also opportunities for birding. We went to a very nice nature preserve. There were some very steep drop offs. 

My niece Stephanie got some great pictures of birds. We walked out to Deer Island and saw a number of fun birds

Snowy Egret

Oyster catcher Info

Snowy Plover Info

European Starling

We stayed at a nice Victorian style home. It had leaded glass windows with a lot of antiques. We each had our own bedroom and the bathroom looked original with a great tub.

Terri and Stephanie birding!

We also took a trip to Moose bog for birding. It's a wonderful walk through the fragrant pine forest. 

Moose bog

At the bog, we spotted an elusive  Black backed woodpecker and Stephanie got some great pictures. Black backed woodpecker 

Red Crossbills

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We saw a tremendous number of dragonflies at the bog. They were fun to watch.

Dragonflies

On one of our hikes we saw a very large number of Mountain Laurel plants. They have pretty white flowers

Mountain Laurel

Stephanie, Terri,
 Christopher and Annika

When I visit the Scott family I make a seafood dinner. Christopher, Annika and I in particular, enjoy lobster, clam chowder, swordfish and steamer clams. Scott selected several excellent desserts from the bakery.

Steamer clams

My visit included a stop at Stephanie's house. It overlooks a beautiful reservoir. She has a tree that hosts an eagle family. 

Eagle nest

 I couldn't get a picture of the eagles but Stephanie sent these two pictures of the juveniles.

               

Juvenile eagle

Juvenile eagle

View from Stephanie's balcony

Turtle eggs

A number of large snapping turtles come up the hill to lay their eggs in the yard. Unfortunately for the turtles, the various rodents find them and eat them. We spotted these very close to her garage.

Adirondack Mountains

Another birding hike was to try to see the nesting Bobolinks. The site provides a beautiful view of the Adirondack Mountains. We did get a get look at some Bobolinks with their very distinctive coloration. Bobolink Pics and info 

Typical bog area in Vermont