Sokol

The Reverend Horton Heat is playing at Sokol Undergound in Omaha tonight. Unfortunately I'm not going. The whole job, pregnant wife, kid thing strikes again. I think that I should have made an effort to go to more shows before Corwin was born. On the bright side Social Distortion is playing at Sokol on May 1 and I am going to that. If, on the odd chance, anyone else wants to go, me let me know.

Rainy Day Corwin

Sandhill Cranes

We arrived in Kearney Nebraska to try and view the migrating Sandhill Cranes around 3ish on Sunday, March 11. First we checked into a motel and then we had dinner at Whiskey Creek- recommended by Matt who hails from Kearney and absolutely despises Sandhill Cranes with an unhealthy passion- which was very good. I had a Jim Beam marinaded steak which although good, pails in comparison to the average steak that Russ brings camping with him and that generally gets cooked over an open fire. After dinner it was off to the public viewing area at Fort Kearny State Recreation Area.

The Sandhill Cranes are interesting in that they winter and summer in many different locations, but nearly all of them meet in the Sandhills of Nebraska in the spring and fall to stop, have a break, get some food and inevitably party in the middle of their migrations.
The weather on Sunday was wonderful, but as the evening wore on, it got progressively chillier. We were able to bundle Corwin up satisfactorily, but I remained a bit cool. The cranes were supposed to show up at around 6ish, but they didn't arrive until 7:15ish. We nearly gave up on them, but another fellow told us to stick around as there was a large flock in a field just over over a couple of hills. We waited it out and got to see many formations of birds flying above us. Without exaggerating I would guess that there were at least 10 t0 20 thousand birds in the sky. They never did land in the river near enough to us to get any good pictures, unfortunately.
The next morning, it was cold and rather foggy. We got to another public viewing site at around 6:30 but never did see anything other than some light ghostly cranes flying overhead. You'll notice the cool hat I'm wearing. It's an old Mack Trucks stocking cap from my youth that I found in my folks house this year. It was a present from my father from when he must have been close to my age.
Later we went to Rowe Sanctuary and saw many cranes flying over the river. Corwin had a grand time playing on the path to the viewing blind. Rowe gives out guided tours to viewing the Cranes in the evening and morning, but Corwin is still too young to go on one of these.


After leaving Rowe we cruised a couple of gravel roads where we saw a truly impressive flock of cranes hanging out.
We crept up slowly on them and watched for a good minute before they all suddenly took to wing.
At first we thought that these birds have really slow reactions if they are just now running away from us. But then, we too heard the train whistle in the background. The trip was worthwhile, but also a bit disappointing. I really wanted to see the dance that Sandhill Cranes are known for. But we got some good intel for the next trip. I think that our best bet will be to have someone baby sit Corwin and Baby overnight so Anke and I can rent a blind and cabin. We also need to get a telephoto lense for out DSLR.

A special thanks goes out to Maurice for allowing me to borrow his Jeep. That allowed Inga, Andre, Anouk, Corwin, Anke, myself and all our gear to travel to the middle of Nebraska in one vehicle, making the trip much simpler.

Happy Birthday to Me

Normally my birthdays tend to suck. It's my own fault because I generally want something grand to happen and, really, grand things rarely happen. But sometimes they are nice. Last year I got an unexpected card on my birthday that made the whole day brighter. This year it looks like we are going to have some kick ass warm and sunny weather. Internet tells me- and Internet never lies- that it will be sunny and 76 today. I can recall one other birthday where the weather was so nice, I think it would have been '95. The weather was warm that day and I had a birthday party at the old Ottumwa house on Church street. Many of my friends were there. Cold beer was on tap. I made out with a cute girl at the end of the night. Good times.

Times change however, but this is going to be a good birthday too I think. I have, I can say with absolutely no impartiality, the world's coolest little boy. I have a lovely wife, that drives me nuts on occasion but loves me with all her heart, brewing another little boy for us. And if we do nothing else well, we make good kids.

Anke's sister Inga is visiting with Andre and their daughter Anouk. We went to view the sandhill cranes on Sunday and Monday. More on the later, I promise, but it was pretty cool if you're a nature dork like me. It makes me happy that I'm able to share silly things like watching birds with my wife.

There is a cake waiting for me when I get home and lasagna on the menu for dinner. It shall be a good day.