Today is Jeanine’s birthday and I am taking her to Las Vegas for a long weekend get away. Our flight out of Boston just beats the incoming nor’easter. 

The main reason for my visit to the rookery was to visit the nesting great blue herons. I was not disappointed and this is just one of two dozen great shots I came home with. 

I am out in the middle of the woods and this beaver nearly gives me a coronary by slapping its tail in the water. Here I am scanning the trees for birds and this guy has been swimming back and forth right under my nose. I guess me got upset that I was not paying any attention to him and thought he would try to scare me to death. 

Even though the light was fading fast, I managed to keep shutter speed high enough to get some great in-flight shots. 

As if a great horned owl was not bounty enough, I also captured this osprey with a recently captured fish. He was calling for his mate for at least 20 minutes before he took off to look for her. 

On the way home from work, I stopped by the Rookery and was rewarded with a special treat. A great horned owl poking it’s head out of the blue heron nest it has occupied. This is only the second owl I have photographed in the wild, and now that I know where he/she lives, I will certainly be going back for another visit. 

I also came across this interesting building which looked nice against the blue sky. Later I explored Fort Independence which I have often admired from the air while on approach to Logan. From the ground, however, it is entirely impossible to appreciate the beauty of its design. 

After work this evening, I had to go to South Boston to pick up an audio receiver for Kyle. He got a great deal on Craig’s list from a guy who works at the Boston Design Center which is located across the street from a working dry dock. After consummating the transaction I had to check out this enormous floating medical hospital that was in for repairs. 

Two of a kind. 

This morning was a time for good byes as my parents got ready to return to Schenectady. 

There is no doubt in my mind that this child was a cat in a former life. The only thing missing here are the wiskers. 

Later in the day we host an Easter party for the families of several close friends. Here, Jeanine enjoys watching the kids hunt for Easter eggs in the yard. This year Nico and I had egg hiding duty and I must say that we did an exceptional job. I placed a number of eggs high enough in trees to require climbing and Nico hid the Golden Egg in a devilishly difficult location under pine needles in the base of a hollow tree. 

To the delight of the children, the Easter Bunny has once again visited our home. Naturally, Maya’s reactions are the most dramatic. Nicolai complains that his basket was too easy to find (a legitimate gripe given is was placed right outside his bedroom door. I offer to hide it and he accepts. After twenty minutes of futile searching, he gives up and I give him a hint which allows him to locate it just outside another door. The front door.  

Following in his brother’s footsteps, Kyle has also entered the workforce as a soccer referee.