Cottage Week(end)

We got to go up to the cottage this weekend.  Julie is spending the whole week with Kyper and Anja, while was the lucky one who got to return to work in the ICU.  So, I decided I would share some cool video of this weekend.  There may be more postings to come as Julie returns with stories from the week.

While up there, I figured out how to attach my tripod to my kayak, so I could take my video camera with me on my adventures.  I took a ton of footage and am in the process of editing my sunset kayak...maybe someday I will post it, but I didn't want to bore anybody with 25 minutes of paddling just yet.  Trust me, the sunset was beautiful though.

So here is a video of my Saturday morning kayak.  I just downloaded some new software and was able to speed it up.  So, my 10 minute video is now only 2 minutes.  I hope nobody gets to sick by the rocking!  It was a pretty morning with water smooth as glass, and you can hear the ripples hitting the bow later on as the I came out of the wind shadow.

For years, Mom Koning has been putting out jelly in a bowl for the Orioles to feed on.  In the past, I have tried to get pictures of the birds, but to no avail.  This year, I got creative and put the video camera right next to the bowl and waited.  By waiting, I mean, played in the water, sipped on my coffee in the pontoon boat, and generally ignored the fact that the camera was running.  I captured 4 feedings after more than 2 hours of footage.  Most were the male birds, but I did see a female as well.  I posted the best video here.  The lighting on the Oriole was the best of the four, but the background is kinda boring.  Listen for his chirping and calling while he is eating.

Thanks to my new video software, I was also able to turn some of the video into still shots.  Here are are a few of my favorite images.

We also got to dip Anja's toes into Big Star lake.  So now, she officially has been in Lake Michigan and Big Star.

Lake Michigan in May

Big Star in June

We had lots of fun playing in the water too.  Our nephews Nate and Nick got to go tubing, and Nate brought a friend along.  Everybody enjoyed the water.  Kyper would dip his toes in, but he wouldn't go too deep because he was afraid the "big bass will get me".  Thank goodness he likes playing in the sand!

Look Mom, no hands!

Liz was the spotter for the boys

Hopefully Julie will come back with even more stories, and we'll see if Kyper ever did get enough courage to swim with those bass.