The Snow geese are here!

 We went for our first birding trip of the fall. We noticed last week that the Swans were back in our area, so decided to drive to Skagit county to an area called Fir Island to look for the Snow Geese. Skagit Valley is a great area to view Swans and Snow Geese. It's fields are full of them throughout the winter months. Usually the Swans and Snow geese arrive about the same time. We saw them but, there were just a few of them in the fields - more to be coming soon!!

Our first sighting
(click to enlarge)

closer
 (click to enlarge)

as close as we could get
(click to enlarge)

 When they are all here for the season, the skies are full of birds looking for a nice field to feed on. They are very noisy, I love to watch them lock their wings for the landing.

Here's a picture I took last year of a group that had just been disturbed, they take off all together and then land all together a short distance away.

Snow Geese

 

Apple Juice and Apple Butter

I decided to do something else with our apples, we've been dehydrating them the last few weeks & we've got enough dried now I think. So I got out the juicer and made some fresh apple juice - unfiltered.

Then on to peeling, coring and slicing apples for Apple Butter, I haven't made it for ages. It turned out pretty good.

All of this apple talk reminded me of a song we used to sing with our kids when they were small "Apples and Bananas", to help them learn their vowel sounds. 

Click on the YouTube video below the hear the song - enjoy!

I went for a four mile run this morning before I got started in the kitchen. Our friend the northeast wind is back & the first Swans flew over today - all the way from Siberia! I love that they fly over our house! I actually enjoyed putting on layers, gloves and a hat. All of my aches and pains are gone from my marathon run a few weeks ago. I ran about 6 1/2 miles last Saturday with my husband on the North lake Whatcom trail, just finished that one before a wind and rain deluge hit!