Little Colts

Verona, Wisconsin, May 2015. It's easy to miss the little ones.

Chick Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, May 2015. We sure do miss the little guys.

Stay-Close Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, May 2015. Sometimes it's safer to stay underfoot.

Easterscapes, in Three Takes

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Suburban Chicago, Spring 1965 or 1966. My Best Friend's Mom, Louise, decorated the house for every holiday.

Waiting

Verona, Wisconsin, March 2015. Last year, the crane pair started nesting in our backyard on March 19. We're waiting to see if they return. I still wonder if something bad didn't happen to the family last year.

Watching

Verona, Wisconsin, May 2015.  We still miss them.

A Theory

 
Verona, Wisconsin, May 10, 2015. Did the crane family decide to leave because the birds tired of the pesky red-winged blackbirds?

Here's a red-winged blackbird about to land on Mama Crane:

Here's one after it landed:

Wistful Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, May 10, 2015. Neighbors have heard the cranes occasionally, but we've not seen them in the yard.

Earlier-Spring Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, May 11, 2105. We sure do miss the crane family.

Melancholy

Verona, Wisconsin, May 14, 2015. I didn't walk down to the pond when the cranes were nesting.

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An eggshell from the sweet hatching still rests in the reeds.

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What did I learn in the last two months? (1) Birds do "feather their nests;" (2) birds keep chicks "under their wings;" and (3) when the chicks leave, one does get an "empty nest" feeling.

Gone?

We were happy the other day when the crane family returned to the nest. Yesterday, they didn't come back to the pond.

Here's how the cranes sounded during that last night we heard them:

Verona, Wisconsin, May 11, 2015. We hope they stop by again for a visit.

They finish the daily rounds.

Verona, Wisconsin, May 10, 2015. The crane family wandered during most of the day. We wondered whether they had left permanently. Everyone has settled back into the nest just now.

I learned today that crane chicks are called "colts" because they start walking so quickly after hatching. I also learned crane chicks can grow as much as one inch each day.

Yes, I've named them: "Ruby" and ... "Amber."

Returning

The crane family stays close to the pond where the Crane Chicks hatched. Usually the cranes walk in the grassy area adjacent to the water. Yesterday Mama Crane and Papa Crane escorted the Crane Chicks to a knoll at the edge of their territory:

The Crane Chicks get exposed to threats when they wander farther from the nesting area. Some of the threats are old. Last evening, for example, Papa Crane tussled again with one of the geese; Mama Crane and the Crane Chicks watched from the shore:

After nightfall, we heard a screeching dispute in the pond. We worried that perhaps coyotes had reached the nest. The fox and the turkey vultures also came to mind.

When I got up this morning, I looked out to check on the cranes. I didn't see them in the yard. I worried at first, but then I saw they'd walked even farther than they had gone yesterday. The family was digging around for nibbles in an adjacent cornfield:

Mama Crane and Papa Crane later led the chicks back to the grass:

Soon, they settled in their familiar spot:

Sunday: the day for strolling.

It's hard to see the chicks.

Verona, Wisconsin, May 9, 2015. Usually I see only Mama Crane and Papa Crane in the grass.

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Verona, Wisconsin, May 10, 2015. Occasionally the Crane Chicks pop up above the dandelions.

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Verona, Wisconsin, May 9, 2015. This clip shows how small the Crane Chicks still are, although they've grown in three days. (The Crane Chicks first appear at 0:14.)

Class Notes (Part 7)

Many friends who wrote "remembrances" in my Mom's memento booklet used a then-common humor device. After a friend penned a sentimental note, she folded the bottom corner of the page. On the corner's edge, the friend wrote "Paslaptis," or "secret." When the reader unfolded the corner, she learned the concealed message only stated the penalty for her curiosity.
 

 Kaunas Lithuania, 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote:

For Memories!
My hand writes,
But it doesn't know for whom.
But the heart tells me
It's for beloved you.

From L.

 ... A Secret

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Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. The "secret corner" reveals the penalty:

Mr. Secret.

Whoever looks here
On the back of a chick must ride.

(The message rhymes in Lithuanian.)

Out-and-About Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, May 6, 2015. The Crane Chicks took their first walk yesterday, less than one day after they hatched. We're very excited about their arrival, so you can expect to see more photos of the chicks as they develop.

A First Spin in the Yard

Verona, Wisconsin, May 6, 2015. The Crane Chicks take their first walk. My Mom provides the commentary.

This rascal lurks in the yard.

Verona, Wisconsin, May 5, 2015. We hope she* stays away from the Crane Chicks.

*We know the fox is a female because of the way she pees by the tree.

The New Family

Verona, Wisconsin, May 6, 2015. Papa Crane stands guard as Mama Crane feeds the Crane Chicks.

Hatched

I wondered yesterday whether the Sandhill Crane chicks weren't about to arrive. The eggs hatched today, and two auburn chicks appeared.

Mama Crane spent most of the morning standing next to, not on, the nest. By early afternoon, she began to clear egg shells.

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Verona, Wisconsin, May 5, 2015. For a time, she sat on the nest. Papa Crane then roused her.

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Verona, Wisconsin, May 5, 2015. When Mama Crane stood up, we could see one chick at her feet.

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Verona, Wisconsin, May 5, 2015. Later, we saw the two chicks.

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Verona, Wisconsin, March 2015. When a Crane Chick asks, "Mama, where did I come from?" Mama Crane can think back to this day.

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ADDED: Here's one: