Life experience

I finally know what's truly important in life.  I always thought that I knew, but honestly I had no idea.  On the very first day of our trip to Costa Rica...hubby found a lump under his arm, literally  in the first hours after arriving on our lifetime dream trip.  I asked him if we could put away the lump until we returned home, this was a trip of a lifetime and I didn't want to spoil a moment of it.  With in a week of arriving home, tests and biopsies were preformed.  He had a rare High Grade Sarcoma, very invasive and very serious. Only 1% of all cancers diagnosed each year.  Our world was turned upside down with in an instant.  Terrified would be a good word for what I felt for close to two weeks from the surgery to the final consult with the surgeon.  Today we learned that the tumor was only 3.5cm and contained! There is a chance that the oncologist will want him to have radiation, and that is fine by me and him.  We are hopeful that this tumor has been caught early and this is the end of our nightmare.  CT scans will follow every 6 months for many years to be sure it hasn't escaped to anywhere else in his body.  Green drinks will now become the beverage of choice...LOL. Me too. If my hubby can get cancer, simply the healthiest person I know....then any of us can!  CHERISH YOUR BODY, SHOW IT THE RESPECT IT DESERVES BY FEEDING IT HEALTHY FOODS AND EXERCISING EVERY DAY.  TELL YOUR LOVED ONES HOW MUCH YOU VALUE THEM EVERY DAY.  LIVE IS SHORT DON'T WASTE A MOMENT OF IT. 

Letchworth State Park Trip

Never a dull moment!

Rainbow

Hi there!

Just ate...check out the bulge

Luna moth...same spot every year

I never tire of the gorgeous plants in the forest at Letchworth

Our little cabin

Beaver Pond

Great Blue Heron Nests

We had a wonderful trip to Letchworth State Park.  Gorgeous weather and good friends, what more could we ask for? 

Road crossing

Beautiful girl crossing the road on 5/15

Wonderful afternoon hike up the the AT with my hubby. Up on top of the mountain we had a gorgeous Indigo bunting and a few Prairie Warblers. At the Beaver pond we had a rare early evening sighting of a Great Horned Owl with a dead rabbit and also a Barred Owl flying away. The Great Horned game us a great look.

swim

Today we had quite an eventful walk. At the pond there were more then 100 Painted turtles on all the logs sunning themselves.  The pair of Canada Geese hatched 4 young.  I found a Red-shoulder hawks nest, and one of the parents flew over to check us out.  Next Monty ran too close to a turkeys nest and she ran out and tried to lure him away.  She dropped her wings and acted as if she was hurt, and continued to walk further from her nest with us following.  She was near us for another 10 minutes of our hike.  Monty learned to swim, FINALLY!  He loves it and didn't want to stop.  It took 2 years of patience on my part to get him to do it. Next we ran into a male wood turt that I've found 3 times.  He is like an old friend.  Back at home there was a Raccoon under the bird feeder, most likely a female who is feeding young.  What a day!

Red Efts

Grosbeak returns

Can't beat the views from my front and rear windows today.  Grosbeaks while washing dishes and then a RT Hummingbird while I'm watching the hockey game!  It's raining outside and he stayed until dark. The feeder is just under the eves of the house so he could stay a bit drier. 

Taking life for granted

Jack in the pulpit

Vernal Pool

Maple

Pinks...dads favorite

Today while out hiking and birding I realized just how much I've taken for granted in my life.  I am having some issues with my ears and hearing.  After tests, the doctor had no answers for me, I guess what I'm experiencing is pretty common.  I'm hoping the issues fade away and they might, or they might not, they will get worse as time goes on.  I've never protected my hearing....never even thought about it. Today has me really thinking about my hearing,  the forest was full of amazing bird song , trees that once were bare are fully leaved with lots of insects now have the trees full of our spring migrants. All busy feeding and calling.   I never thought about how much I use my ears to locate a bird, to identify a bird.  How much I'd miss if I lost my hearing.   Having a strong healthy body is our greatest gift in this life, with out it....we will eventually have nothing.  When we are young our bodies are very forgiving of what we do to them, but as we age that is no longer true.  All our sins of the past begin to show as we age.  We think that we will always be young and then suddenly you are in middle age, finding your body falling apart and thinking to yourself...how will I ever grow old if I continue to age this quickly.  I am going to do everything in my power to turn back my clock, I'm not going to age gracefully....I'm going to get moving and take good care of me from here on out, I want to be kick ass strong as I age, not a frail old lady. This is a promise I make to me! 

GORGEOUS DAY!  Migrants all over the place!  Started my morning with a flock of Yellow-rumped right outside my window.  Sipping coffee and birding...what a start to the day!

Happy Full Moon

This full moon symbolizes a new beginning for hubby and I. We are in the process of making some major life changes, all for the better of our lives. It isn't going to be an easy time for us, as no change that comes with hard decisions ever is, but in the end, I know we are going to be happier and lead better lives. I'm excited for our future.

Wood Warblers

Today is one of those days that I'm so incredibly grateful to be alive. One week ago I was on vacation in Costa Rica, hiking in Corcovado Park.  It was the trip of a lifetime for ten days.  So much time to think about life.  Today I hiked locally and decided that where I live is my favorite place on earth.  There really is no need to travel to other countries, I truly believe the the US is the prettiest place on earth. The forest was a sea of green, as every tree and plant has now opened their leaves, it is breathtaking to see.  The neotropical wood warblers have filled the forest with their songs, and the scent of the damp woods is intoxicating after the rain of last night.  When I set out I knew that I was going to find a female box turtle, it was a gut feeling that I had.  Just before the end of my hike, Monty was cautiously sniffing something near a stream, so I quickly caught up to him to see what it was, and was not surprised to see it was turtle. The fact that it was a female made me realize, we have deeper powers then we even know. This has happened to me repeatedly with wildlife sightenings. She is very healthy and heavy, at least 20 years old.  I feel so blessed to have seeb her.  My day is good, my life is great.  

Species today, Redstart, Yellow-Rumped, Blackbernian, BT Blue, BT Green, Yellow, Connecticut, Black & White, Audubons, Blue-headed Vireo, Wood Thrush, Baltimore Oriole.

April 29th

April 28th

Squirrel Monkey

Danger Dog

Brian

Red Lored Parrot

Skink

Ban-yon Tree

Land Crab

The shower

Porch, favorite spot

View from porch

Dining Room

Cows got out

We are in the air

Heading to pick people up

Corcovado Park

Landing in the Rain Forest