Debt Free

I am giddy this afternoon because my lender told me my house is paid off and I don't have a car payment or large credit card payment (it gets paid off monthly) so I am now debt free.  My goal was to be debt free 5 years after I retired, well it is 5 years and 5 months, so I consider I met my goal.  You never think you will get here and most people don't.  I know God has blessed me to be able to do this and I can't thank Him enough for allowing me to accomplish my goal.  I have some work to do on the house and after seeing my city has non-stop 7 hour flights to Iceland, I guess I have some plans for all that extra money plus I think I will give some extra to buy a motorbike for our sister church in Muhalaze and get the pastor some wheels. Do you know he sometimes walks 2 hours to give communion, I can't imagine that.  Anyway it is a good feeling to be debt free and I know it will take awhile to sink it but...

Decorah North Nest

This is from RRP on why the eaglets passed.

We are sorry to announce that both eaglets at the Decorah North nest died yesterday. To recap: Mrs. North laid one egg on February 25. That egg broke on March 16th, but she reclutched on April 12th, laying one egg on the 12th and another egg on the 15th. DN7 hatched on May 18th and DN8 hatched on May 20th.

Why did the eaglets die? As we learned last year at Great Spirit Bluff, blackflies carry a pathogen that overwhelms the immune systems of young birds. Today's blackfly strike, combined with the extreme heat and humidity, was more than the eaglets could take. The North reclutch was inspirational, but we all worried that the late hatch might negatively affect the eaglets - and it did. As John pointed out, what happened at the North nest shows how important the hatch window is in the larger picture. Insect hatches that overlap the vulnerable developmental stages of eagles and falcons can have devastating effects.
Even knowing that our eagles are truly wild, it is really hard and unfair to watch them seemingly succeed, only for their eaglets to perish. Sherri expressed what all of us are feeling when she wrote: "We were given a miracle gift and got to know two eaglets who showed us their fierce and feisty nature for seven and five days...that is what I will hold onto, and the determination and dedication of these parents." Both parents did their very best to shelter their eaglets from the gnats and the weather. We will continue to love and cherish our eagles and falcons, collect information to help us understand the challenges they face, and act on their behalf. Goodbye, DN7 and DN8 - it was wonderful to know you. A tribute video: https://youtu.be/hxyn-7Ojxq0.

Party Day

My niece is finally here and we are having a belated birthday party and graduation party with her grandparents who live here as well.

Of course it has to be Harry Potter themed, so on short notice here is the dining room decorated on a short timeframe.

Dementors are to be darker and more dense but Joans did not have the black cheesecloth they were to have and I did not have time to dye the white cheesecloth so we fabric stiffened netting which works but not as well.  There are 2 hanging on the ceiling.

The candy plate has snitches, chocolate frogs and spiders and lemon levitating drops.

And because she likes the Slytherin House it is silver and green.

Sunrise and RIP

I like to get up early and get my day started. One of the great benefits is you get to see the sunrise. This morning it was so different than normal and how gorgeous.

 On a sad note both little dandelions passed yesterday at the Deocrah North nest.  Mom had laid an egg in Feb and it cracked.  Apparently she was fertile enough to lay 2 more later. However they were not very old and still in the dandelion stage and could not thermo-regulate and deal with the gnats.  So yesterday they passed.  That nest has had nothing but trouble but they never give up.  So RIP little ones and soar the thermals with your other siblings.