Wildlife and Whiskey

One feature of Bainbridge Island that we have yet to report on is its wonderful wildlife. In particular, the island is home to numerous bald eagles, and some of them live right here near our cottage. In fact, the property owners mentioned to us that they had to postpone some construction on one of the cottages because it was nesting season for the eagles, and they could not be disturbed. Eagles, we have learned, have a very distinct call; it was first described to us as "other-worldly," and once we heard them we realized that it is an apt description.

They are especially active in the early morning; at least three or four times a week their call pierces the morning stillness, but this is the hardest time to see them because it is dark and we are still in bed. (Or one of us is in bed, and the other is rocking Michael!) Neither of us had actually seen the eagles until a few weeks ago when Emily caught sight of one flying overhead during the day. Then one Saturday during Gramma and Papa Rauer and Uncle Tim's visit we were loading into the car around 11 am, when we all heard them call. We looked up and saw two eagles flying low overheard, and then they turned around and flew back. It was exhilarating to look up and see their white heads and broad wingspan. On that occasion and in sightings since, they never seem to flap their wings, so their flight has a poise and dignity that is so beautiful to watch.

Then just last week on President's Day I was taking Michael for a walk around the property at dusk while Emily got his dinner ready. We heard an eagle call, and when we looked up we saw one fly up to a perch in a tree beside our cottage. He perched there for half an hour, which gave us enough time to grab the camera for a picture:

Alas, the light was fading, so you can only just make out his size and his white head. He looked stately as ever on his perch, and as you watch them, it is easy to see why it was chosen as a national symbol. On this topic, here's some trivia I just learned: Benjamin Franklin did not want the bald eagle to be our national symbol because of its "bad moral character" (not sure how he arrived at this opinion) and favored the turkey instead. Now that I've had a chance to observe both birds, I can say that I am glad Franklin's preference did not carry the day. (Emily just informed that she already knew about Franklin and the turkey. Am I the only one who didn't know this story?)

Our most recent encounter with the local wildlife occurred just this morning when we looked out our kitchen window and saw this four-legged friend:

Of course, it didn't take long for the deer to notice us and give us that deer-in-headlights look:
What we did not expect was how quickly Michael would be able to imitate the look:

A final encounter with the northwest wildlife took place last week while I was riding the ferry to work. About halfway through the trip the captain came on the PA system and announced that there were two whales swimming off the south side of the boat. Amazingly, not everyone jumped at this chance to see some whale tails. I sure did and so did the woman across from me, who was so excited she knocked over her ceramic coffee mug. (Who commutes with a ceramic mug? It's a ferry, not a diner.) After helping her pick up the pieces, I hustled over to starboard where sure enough, two orca whales were swimming along us. They bobbed up and down about four times and then went under for good. The scene looked something like this:
The only difference is that this is a picture of Michael's bath toy. The whales I saw were real, and they were in the Puget Sound. Another difference: the whales I saw were not chewed and then "beached" on the bathroom floor, which is the nightly fate of the toy whale.
Now the "whiskey" part of this blog posting refers to a new distillery that has opened on Bainbridge Island, called Bainbridge Organic Distillers (http://www.bainbridgedistillers.com/). As you may know, my Celiac disease has meant that for the last few years my occasional beer has been replaced by an occasional glass of whiskey. So you can imagine my delight when I discovered that there was a distillery right here on the island (in the same plaza as our pediatrician, no less). It is one example of micro-distilleries that are popping up around Washington State, and the Bainbridge Distillers use wheat grown organically on the nearby Olympic Peninsula and processed right here on the island. (The gluten is lost in the distillation, making it a Celiac-friendly beverage.)

So far they've developed a vodka and a whiskey and they have a gin in the works. They only make small batches, so when I received an email that their second batch of whiskey was out, we scooted over and bought a bottle.

It is rare to buy anything these days that's produced locally from beginning to end, but here's an example of just such a product. I am eager to try it, but with a few special visitors on their way in March, I'm saving my first glass till they arrive. I don't claim to have a great palate for spirits, but I'll pass on my thumbs-up or thumbs-down after it's been tested. In the meantime, check out their website and and check back here for new tales from the wild (north)west.

Birthday Visitors

As noted in the previous entry, Michael's birthday celebration included a visit from his Gramma and Papa Rauer and his Uncle Tim! Their trip out here was delayed by a day due to the winter weather that shut down the Detroit airport. Once they arrived though, Michael was thrilled to see them, and all the extra attention left him feeling super, as expressed by the shirt he received from Uncle Tim. (The birthday gift came with a Batman shirt also!)

This picture pretty much sums up how Michael felt about his birthday visit from Gramma, Papa and Tim.

Adventures during the visit included numerous ferry rides, of which Michael never tires, especially when they involve snacking on a Mum-Mum (seen in the foreground).

We think Mum-Mum was Michael's first word. At first we thought he was saying "Mama," but as he spoke he would reach toward the cabinet. I'm just glad he likes the taste of rice crackers, because if he's got Celiac like his dad, he's going to be eating a good many rice crackers over the years.

Michael's favorite activities on the ferry include: (1) staring at other passengers; (2) continuing to stare at other passengers; (3) having his diaper changed in the ferry bathroom (women's bathroom, that is; too bad for me there's no changing station in the men's room...or is there?); (4) eating Mum-Mums (see above); (5) staring out the window for birds, airplanes, boats, birds, driftwood, etc. Here is a picture of Activity #5 with help from Uncle Tim.

One adventure was a visit to the Seattle Aquarium, which houses all sorts of sea creatures that live in the sound. The main attraction is the octopus, which you can see in this picture I pulled from the Internet. Similar to a Hypercolor shirt, the octopus changes color according to its activity level: active = red; inactive = gray. As you can see, he's quite active in the picture (and so was the girl apparently).

Michael missed the all-red memo and showed only moderate activity with his orange sleeves. He did love the fish and enjoyed facing up to the glass for a closer look.

Another afternoon was spent at Battle Point Park on Bainbridge Island. I've blogged about this park before, but as Michael gets older, there's more and more fun to be had there. For example, green rocks:

The slide:
And the gravel!

One of our final excursions was to visit the Science Center where the Harry Potter exhibit was wrapping up. Without mentioning any names, two of us have read the books multiple times and were very eager for the exhibit:

I thought it was a great show, too, and I've only read the first four of the books. There were superfans aplenty at the show, relishing the formal wear that Harry, Ron and Hermione wore to the Yule Ball at the Triwizard Tournament! Michael stayed interested as long as he could, taking breaks occasionally with me and his Papa.
But ultimately the Harry Potter exhibit cast a pretty serious sleeping spell on him.

First Birthday!

Well this past Friday marked Michael's first year with us. The whole week we've been remembering the days leading up to his birth. For example, on Thursday night at 11 pm (= 2 am East Coast time) Emily recalled: "At this time last year I was having contractions and you had fallen asleep." That sounded kind of familiar; I replied that I was probably conserving my strength so I could be as supportive as possible the next day.

The birthday boy began Friday with a long look in the mirror. No crowsfeet yet, but he is starting to show his age.

Next on the agenda was his favorite pre-breakfast activity: trucks. Loading the dumptruck, dumping the dumptruck, loading the dumptruck...I think you get the picture.

Going to the kitchen for breakfast, Michael was surprised to find a new friend waiting for him: Buzzy Bee. I think this was the first clue for him that it was a special day.

We saved the cake for the afternoon, 3:30 to be precise which is the time he was born last year (6:32 EST). He was interested in the cupcake we had bought him and struck the following pose. (We're grooming him for a future boy band.)

The interest continued as Em and I sang "Happy Birthday" and brought him the cupcake with the candle lit. He made a wish (we think), and Em helped him blow out the candle.

That was about the extent of his interest. The first clue was when he flipped the cupcake upside down. He tried a bite of the cake.
But that was about it. Soon he was picking it apart and handing bites to me and Em. Even when we tried to feed him the cake or the icing, he didn't care much for it.
This picture pretty much sums up what Michael thought of the cupcake. Amazingly, he shows no sign of his mom and dad's sweet tooth, but there's still time for this dominant gene to surface.

Fortunately for Michael, whose Italian gene is quite strong, there was a pasta dinner later in the evening. Em made some delicious meat sauce that Michael totally pounded -- buon appetito!
After Michael was in bed for the night, Em's parents and brother arrived, so stay tuned for pictures from their visit.