My daughter Anela wondered if I’d like to go to Ridgefield for Mother’s Day.  Would I!  You betcha!  My other daughter, Leilani, was out of town, so Anela and I headed out just after noon on Saturday.

She bought me a latté and took a selfie.  I’m not a huge fan of selfies (mines ones), but on Friday I realized that there are no photos of my mom and me, so I wen hemo my reservations about it and went for the gusto.  I want my girls to have photos of us together.  So even though I feel kinda ack about da photo….

Even though it had been pouring for two days, the skies cleared and the sun came out.  It was perfect weather for viewing wildlife. Anela has a wonderful photographer’s eye, and she got some fantastic photos. I took some with my camera, too.  The thing I love about going to Ridgefield is that we never know what we’re going to see, so every time we go it’s different.

She spotted an egret in the grass and we both snapped photos of it.

We saw a bunch of turtles sunning themselves on drainage pipes; this one was in the water.

We drove a little bit further into the wetlands, and spied this Great Blue Heron.

One of the things that I love about watching herons is how slowly they can move, and when they do, they look as if their bodies are oiled because they move so smoothly.  Sometimes they won’t move for the longest time, and when they do see something to eat, their beaks move like lightning.

I like this photo because of the reflection in the water.

I think he was opening his beak a bit in this one.

Canada Geese and their goslings.  Seemed most appropriate for a Mother’s Day drive.

The male goose was very wary, watching for any sign of danger. He was extremely alert and I wouldn’t have wanted to mess with him.

Ho, so kewt nā keiki!

His wife contented herself with taking a bath and cleaning her feathers.

Then she decided it was time to go hunt for food in the water.  And the babies all followed her.

They were so cute, following along behind her.  They had to swim because their legs weren’t long enough yet to walk in the water.

We also saw several Red-Wing Blackbirds. I absolutely love the males’ song. When Nolemana and I used to go to Lake Tahoe for a week in October, we’d park the car right next to the marsh just so that I could listen to the blackbirds singing their sundown lullabies.

Love this shot of him on the sign.

See what I mean about his lovely voice?

Nolemana and I have gone to Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge plenny times. There are lots of trains that go by right near the entrance (or exit) to the refuge, and every single time we go I keep hoping we’ll be able to take a photo of a train as it comes roaring by. And every single time, we miss it. Sometimes by just a few minutes, but we miss it.

But not today! Just as Anela and I were leaving, I heard a train whistle! So we drove quickly over the bridge, and just as we got to the other side, the crossing da kine came down. Anela jumped out of the car and got this fantastic photo!! Score!

All in all, it was an absolutely wonderful afternoon with my precious girl. Sunshine, wildlife, great photos, and the companionship of a very special person in my life.