Monday Monday...Excitement on Still Waters Pond!

Well, after two days of monsoonal type rains we were beginning to despair for Mr. and Mrs. Sand Hill Crane ever being able to get their nest high enough above the water to maintain a good nest for whatever eggs came along. Their little marsh island out there in the middle of the pond was almost completely under water again.  But Mr. and Mrs. Crane persevered and kept piling more and more lily pad stems and mud up on top of the nest...they worked tirelessly every waking hour. It looked like they were bailing water out of a sinking boat and building sand bags around their nest. It was too dark and dreary for me to get any good pictures of that activity, so you will just have to imagine it for yourself!

But can you imagine our surprise this morning when the rains had finally stopped and the sun came up...and this is what we saw?!  Mrs. Crane was sitting on her nest, with Mr. Crane standing guard nearby...

My first thought was, "She must've laid an egg, because she's sitting on the nest!"

And sure enough, in a little while she stood up and let me see that yes, indeed there is an egg!!

They continued their constant building up of the nest to keep it above water, as you can see in these pictures how close to the nest the waters have risen:

I kept trying to see if there was more than one egg, but so far I can only be sure of one. Sometimes they take a couple of days to lay their eggs, so we may get another surprise tomorrow...time will tell...

I've already decided that since this egg made its appearance on President's Day, it shall be named "Lincoln" .  If there is another egg, it will be "Washington".     Oh, btw, can you see the little black and white diving duck (Ring Necked Duck) in the background behind Mr. Crane? Yes, he is still swimming around the pond alone, and he seemed really pleased to be the first to find out about the egg's arrival!

However, it wasn't long before the word got out to the community, and soon the Canada Geese brigade showed up to pay their respects and toot their horns loudly...enough to wake up the baby in the egg! LOL.

This actually went on all day long. The geese swam round and round Mr. and Mrs. Crane and their nest, sometimes getting much too close for comfort and Mr. Crane had to flap his wings and shoo them away!

That didn't seem to deter them.  They are very curious about the Cranes and their nest.  Likewise, when the eggs hatch and the new little baby "Colts" make their appearance (in about a month), I am sure the geese will be back to check out the new baby.  It's quite an interesting kind of community these water fowl seem to have!

Anyway, Mrs. Crane has been mostly resting on the nest today while Mr. Crane has kept up his watch and also adding to the nest to keep it above water. As I write this now at 5:30 in the evening, they are still out there working away.  

The Canada Geese and The Ring Necked Duck were not the only visitors to the pond today to celebrate the delivery of the Sand Hill Crane egg!   The Wood Ducks made their appearance as well, and this time they actually swam close enough to our side of the pond for me to get a few decent pictures!

Isn't he beautiful?  There were two males out there swimming around.  Like I said the other day, I am not sure where their females are...maybe they have a nest somewhere on the other side of the pond that I don't know about. 

I was very excited to get to see these handsome fellas up a little bit closer!

Oh gee...Those geese are out there chasing each other around and making all kinds of noise...they can't let a lady in waiting get any peace and quiet...

Mr. Crane continued to make sure they didn't come any closer...

Yep, it's been an exciting day on Still Waters Pond!  The waters may be "still", but there's plenty of action on top of the water!

I have a feeling this next month is going to be very interesting!

In the meantime, what else is going on?  We had a busy weekend as I've already told you about in my last post, celebrating hubby's birthday, along with church on Sunday, and rain, rain, and more rain all day Saturday and Sunday.   Today we had our weekly Bible Studies, which is always a blessing.  The rest of this week will be pretty much normal, with the exception that we've been invited to go have dinner with some "old friends" back in our previous neighborhood on Thursday.  We are looking forward to that.  Other than that, I guess that's all folks!  I hope you are all doing well...I will try to get around and visit with you all as I am able.  Some of you are such prolific writers that I have a difficult time keeping up!  But it's wonderful to have such a great group of "friends" here in blogland...and beyond! 

Have a blessed and wonderful rest of your week!!  Here's a link to our Sunday sermon and song "Open My Eyes That May See"...You might enjoy this and the pastor's message from Psalm 51.  

1 Open my eyes that I may see

glimpses of truth thou hast for me.

Place in my hands the wonderful key

that shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for thee,

ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

2 Open my ears that I may hear

voices of truth thou sendest clear,

and while the wave notes fall on my ear,

ev’rything false will disappear.

Silently now I wait for thee,

ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my ears, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

3 Open my mouth and let me bear

gladly the warm truth ev’rywhere.

Open my heart and let me prepare

love with thy children thus to share.

Silently now I wait for thee,

ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my mouth, illumine me,

Spirit divine!