Devastating News...

Last month, I posted for Favorite Things Friday a link to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens Eagle Cam.

Three eggs hatched, and the eaglets have been thriving nicely.

Today - the unthinkable.  The mama eagle was hit and killed by a jet.

NORFOLK -- A plane landing at Norfolk International Airport struck and killed an eagle Tuesday morning, and it has been confirmed that it was one of the very popular eagles from the Norfolk Botanical Garden.

Tuesday afternoon, Stephen A. Living, a wildlife biologist with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries confirmed it is indeed one of the nesting pair from the Norfolk Botanical Garden.

These eagles were well known through the Norfolk Botanical Garden Eagle Cam provided by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF), Norfolk Botanical Garden and WVEC, and have been at NBG since 2001.

Eagle Cam watcher Linda Eszenyi drove from Northern Virginia in hopes of getting a personal glimpse of the pair and their eaglets.

“They told me and I just had to go have a cry.  I was so hurt and disappointed, not for just me but for everybody that watches,” Eszenyi said.

Reese Lukei, a research associate with the Center for Conservation Biology (CCB), has monitored and blogged about these eagles for ten years.

“It’s about like losing one of your kids,” Lukei described.

Moments before the confirmation, Living said "We are fairly certain it's the female from Norfolk Botanical Garden based on the location, the physical characteristics of the eagle and the fact that the female hasn't been seen on the nest since early this morning."

DGIF management is meeting at the NBG.  They're trying to determine the status of the eagle nest.  They are concerned whether the male eagle can raise the three eaglets solo.

“We are going to be watching this nest very closely over the coming days to see if he is able to provide regular feeding for the chicks,” Lukei stated.

Biologists with the VDGIF, CCB, and the staff at NBG will continue to monitor the nest and are working to ensure the health of the eaglets. 

The strike happened sometime between 8:30 and 8:50 a.m.  A US Airways regional jet coming from Philadelphia was preparing to land at 8:50 when the pilot reported the bird strike.  

Shank says the eagle was reportedly feeding at Lake Whitehurst with another eagle when the strike was reported

The plane landed safely and no one was hurt, Shank stressed.   He added that there was minor damage to the aircraft.

Shank told WVEC.com that this is the second eagle strike in several weeks and fourth in 10 years; the others occurring in 2005 and 2001.

Shank said the airport is working with the US Fish and Wildlife office to see if anything can be done to protect airline passengers and wildlife.

I'm saddened and heartbroken.  I've watched this pair for a few years now, and since they've been keeping track, this pair has raised almost 20 young.  And now I have no idea what will happen.  To these eaglets, to the male, to the nest.  So sad.....

AMW

Work - A four letter word

I've been contemplating a post venting about work.  But then the universe intervened and had other plans....

You know how it is.  You hit a point where you wonder why you do what you do.  You know you love your job, but then forces come along and chip away at that love.  Maybe it's a boss, maybe it's a client, maybe something else.

And then, just like that, it turns around again.  (At least *hopefully* in my case)

I've got a meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning, Tuesday - 4/26, at 9:30 am Eastern time.  If anyone has some extra good vibes to send my way I could sure use them!

AMW

Long Arm Practice

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that I found a local quilt store that rents their long-arm after you take a class.  I took the class two weeks ago, and went back this past Friday to practice.

I've got to say that it was a TON of fun.  I can tell I need a lot of practice, but boy did I LOVE it!

So without further ado...  here are some pics!  (Keep in mind, this was my first time!)

The whole thing.  I ran out of bobbin in the bottom left.  I was just about done, so I just left it...

The hearts were done with "groovy boards".  They turned out not bad.  The rows of flowers directly below them were "groovy boards" too.  Didn't turn out as well.

I do ok with loops and stars.  And apparently cursive capital "G".  Didn't even realize I did that...

The very beginning.  A little nerve-wracking, but we all have to start somewhere, right?

I kinda liked this star, although not perfect.

And not too bad of a swirly.

These atrocious stars were an attempt at a "groovy board" well beyond my abilities at the moment.

I can't wait to go back again and play some more.  Next time, I'll actually quilt a quilt.  It will be scary, but I've got to just jump in and do one.  I finished a top for my roommate in December, and I think that one will be the guinea pig.  If it turns out horrible, I'll just make her another one!  LOL!  She won't mind...

If you were going to do long arm quilting, what would be your default quilt pattern???  I think mine will be meandering loops!  LOL!

AMW

Quilts for Japan

In my last post, I mentioned that my friend JAB and I had made a "sew date" to make some simple quilts for Japan.  We each started with one each, and quickly decided we could do two each.  It took us a little over a week.

My two are on the outside, and JAB's are the two on the inside.

JAB's.  She has an affinity for purple.

Mostly scraps or leftovers.  My two.

It was extremely rewarding, and the time with a good friend was fun.  So much fun, we're going to try to get together about once a month and make a couple of quilts for charity.


But I've just gotta share....  I picked the WINDIEST  day ever to try to get pics... Here are some out-takes:

OK, so this one isn't tooo bad.  I could always claim I planned that so you could see the back.  Right?

So yes - they are very simple quilts.  But hopefully they will bring some comfort to a few people.

AMW

Sheesh...

Has it really been more than a month since I posted here???  Crap!  Why didn't someone poke me?  Oh yeah, that's facebook...

It's been stressful and relaxing this last month.  I've been busy and bored.

But no real excuse for not posting...  I've been reading and keeping up with everyone, but just forgot to post anything.

Maybe it's age?

Anyway -

Took one small weekend trip to one of my favorite places, the Outer Banks!  Went with four other fabulous women, and we went to Endless Possibilities in Manteo, NC for a day of creativeness.  We each weaved a rug:

Our finished rugs!

And I bought a bucket hat made out of men's neckties:

I've since been given a grocery bag full of ties, and will try to make another hat.

The Japan earthquake/tsunami disaster happened while we were on that trip, and I've been following things since then.  The devastation is utterly amazing.  I started seeing calls for quilts at a lot of blogs I was following, so I teamed up with my friend JAB to see about each of making a simple quilt to donate.

We set up a sew date, and were doing so well, we ended up making 4 of them in a weeks time.  (no pictures yet, but will post when I do have them...)

That left us wanting to do more, so we've decided to get together once a month and make a quilt each for the local children's hospital.  Will post more on that later as well...

(See how I'm setting myself up for more posts later???  Clever, huh?  Or lame... whichever....)

JAB was also the one to tell me a bout a local quilt shop that offers a class on how to use their long-arm and then rents it to you by the hour.  Class is done, and let's just say that I'm in LOVE!  Renting it this Friday for some practice time.....  But more on that later (yet ANOTHER segway to a new post!)

As for the stressful stuff, I think I'll leave that for a separate post.  Mostly so I have a subject to post about , but also cause it's a bit of a vent, and that will make it easier to skip over. (Although, really, do we skip over people's vents?  Or secretly welcome them as a way to see what's REALLY going in the real life of some of our blogger friends?, Yeah, that's I what I thought...)

Enough rambling for today.

Thanks to all of you who post regularly so that I have something to read when I'm not posting!