Wabasha Paper

The local newspaper did a little piece on the Eagle Center this week. It is all about behind the scenes and what it takes to care for the birds. It even made the front page!

Notice Donald and I in the lower right hand corner?

Anyways, the quotes are not quite correct but it will do. My favorite part, all the pictures of of my side or back of my head. A nice change from my usual contorted face :)

The Donald

I have been training my center's Golden Eagle for about 6 weeks now. He is AMAZING!

He has picked up on our training fairly quickly. This bird once panicked and tried to evade me when I began to approach him. Now he steps up like a champ and is calm as can be even when we go into the classroom. We still have lots of shaping to do of the behavior and a few more things to accomplish but so far so good.

Here are a couple pictures of my newest buddy!

Chillin' in the mew

In the mew

Having some sprinkler enrichment

Loving the sprinkler!

Twins!

The other night, I headed up to the cities to go to a Twins game. I even broke out the Twins shirt I bought last year for a $1 for the occasion. Twins versus Indians. The Twins ended up losing, not surprising. I did have a great time though hanging out with some awesome people!

State Fair!

I braved the Minnesota State Fair again this year. The mission of the day: ridiculous hats and cheese curds.

Anna, Jeff and I showing off ridiculous hat #1: Invasive Species

Peregrine Seed Art

Wall of plastic bottles - crazy to see how many Minnesota goes through in just 5 minutes!

Junk Sculpture

Me and Anna with ridiculous hat #2: Mosquito and Deer

By the end of the day I was a little sunburned, sweaty, had a stomach full of cheese and 2 fun hats. I also got to spend the day hanging out with some friends. I would say Mission Completed! :)

Spiders

I was sitting outside reading last night when a spider web caught my eye - I grabbed my camera and played with the settings until I got a couple fun pictures of the web with the sunset in the background.

Iced Coffee!

As you might guess from the title of my blog, I really really like a good cup of coffee. I recently discovered a way to make myself a single cup of iced coffee. I pour any leftovers I have in the morning into an ice cube tray. When I want to sit out on a hot evening, I put of few coffee cubes in a mug and wait for it to melt. Hits the spot!

Fish Bones

Awhile back I grabbed some fish earbones from work. I had an idea stuck in my head that I needed to try. I wrapped some wire around them and turned them into a pair of earrings. These otoliths (ear bones) happen to be from the sheepshead or freshwater drum. Turned out pretty cool!

The Otoliths before

Finished Product!