What a weekend.... Wow, I can't express that enough.... I got away and headed up to camp after having a super stressful week at work with hopes of having lots of fun and getting out with my camera. Instead, I began it by spraining my ankle on Friday night. I woke up Saturday morning and WOW.... the pain was so intense, I couldn't put any weight at all on my left foot. It was so hard to do anything. I had to hold onto things and bounce on one foot to get around and the only way to get down my three little stairs was to do it on my rear end. Luckily my sister was at camp and she was able to help me get my boyz in and out. I wound up driving myself to the ER (since my right foot still worked), calling into the ER asking if they could come out with a wheel chair and leaving it in the wheel chair and a pair of crutches to get around with.

By Sunday, I was doing a little better and could put some weight on my foot. Thank goodness because it was completely impossible to get around on the crutches or to do anything. I wound up spending my day with my leg up and icing it, but also tossing the crutches to the side and doing my best to use my left foot as little as possible. By today, the swelling had gone done and I was so cooped up, I couldn't stop myself from getting out.

I decided I would go check on the new osprey nest I'm watching as it is on private property and they have picnic tables set up for me to sit at. I had only a very short walk to get there and once I was there, I could relax and take it easy. Sadly, I have yet to check on my usual osprey nest, but I was thankful to have this one for today since I couldn't handle a long walk or a lot of standing.

As I arrived at the nest, I could see both parents were in it and mom was feeding young ones. It was impossible to see how many she was feeding, but it did look like it could potentially be two or three. Dad stayed in the nest until she was finished feeding, then left with the fish and sat in a nearby tree. He sat there and waited for a while. Eventually, she called him back in so that she could feed the young ones again. After feeding, she took off and grabbed a stick to bring to the nest. He then left and flew to a nearby tree where he sat for a long while. While he was sitting in the tree, another female osprey flew in, around the nest and left. He yelled the entire time. Shortly after she left, he left.

He was gone for a long period of time, then out of nowhere I saw him fly by to check on things, then towards Lake Champlain. I was assuming he had gone out fishing to bring food home to the family. I waited roughly 45 minutes, but he didn't return. Mom flew out of the nest twice and landed in a nearby by tree for a moment, then back to the nest. I was assuming she was looking for him, but I'll never know for sure. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had to get back to camp to pack up the car and head home.

Hopefully next time I go, I'll see the kids and know how many they have. I'm also hoping to check on the nest I've been watching for a few years now.

Here is dad, the first time he left the nest with the remains of the fish, while mom is bent over taking care of her young. Such proud parents!