An unexpected visitor

We had a new visitor to our backyard today.

I've checked my Peterson's Guide several times and still can't exactly figure it out. At first I thought it might be a Northern Harrier but the head doesn't have enough white. Then I thought maybe it could be a Broad-Winged Hawk. (What you can't see is the brown and white stripes on the tail...otherwise I might have thought it was a Red-Tailed Hawk which is very common around here.)

I give up.

Whatever it was, it scared the daylights out of the sparrows, finches, juncos and chipmunks that usually empty my feeders daily.

What made this the most fun was how excited Chance and Maia were when they saw it, and how proud they were to come get me and show it to me. They knew they had a rare find!

Very cool, indeed.


Addendum: I've checked with a few people, including the wonderful & knowledgable folks at our local Tinker Park, and they confirm it was a Broad-Winged Hawk. Finally, the mystery is solved!

Anniversary

Last Saturday was our 6th anniversary. It's hard to believe that it's only been six years since we've known each other for 20, but the official count is just six. The good news is that Sean's decided to renew my lease, so I got that going for me (which is nice).

Honestly, I count myself incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful husband and father of our children. I don't know how he manages to do it all and make it look effortless, but that's just him.

On a much less serious note, we celebrated the occasion by going out to Tastings. I've never been too interested in going there because, well, it's Wegmans fercryin'outloud! Why spend all that money on a dinner out and go to Wegmans?! Well, I take it all back. We had a fantastic dinner - the food was amazing, the wine wonderful and the service was great, too. It ranks up there with our favorites: Rooney's, Rio, Sienna Grill, etc.

So, all in all, another year celebrated and the promise and excitement of many more to come.

I love you, Sean. Thank you.