>We went for Pony rides at the zoo last friday! We also saw three American Bald Eagles at the zoo. These were the first we had ever seen in real life. They are at the zoo because they cannot fly due to wing injuries.

>One of the great things about working at a land grant institution are the animals! We love to go feed the horses and to visit the cows! And, of course, there is nothing like Dairy Day! On Dairy Day you get the chance to milk the cows, pet the calfs, ride the big tractors, and stick your hand inside a cow’s stomach. The poor cow – it actually did not seem to mind. It kept on eating its hay. But still i felt kind of bad. Frankie said it “felt grosser than it looked”!

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So we have been pathetic in keeping up here and will try better this month! In any case, we will kick off the month by reporting our progress on route to Spokane. We got in another 227 miles in July (1392 miles on the year), allowing us to cross over from North Dakota into Montana! Our current stop is Hysham, MT.

July running was pretty fun, and we even got some hills in. While not as big as the hills in Montana, we ran all around Norwood Michigan during our vacation, giving new meaning to gently rolling hills. But any run followed by a dip in the cool waters of Lake Michigan is worth it (at least says Cho Cho would took several dips in the lake en route!).

Hysham, MT is a pretty small town – only 91 families according to the town’s website, so i think we will keep running! Actually it would be nice to visit one day. Here are some pictures of Hysham:

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I used to think that the crossroads of America was Indiana, but our running for June has landed us in Belfield, ND. According to their Chamber of Commerce, Belfield, North Dakota is “the crossroads of the North American continent.” I guess there is a difference between the crossroads of America and the crossroads of the American continent! Belfield is situated on the banks of the Heart River, and it is halfway between New York City and Seattle, Washington. It is also on US 85, “the only intercontinental highway that extends from Alaska to Mexico City, Mexico.” As they say, “You are truly at the crossroads of America. The Gateway City to the West.“

We are still about 45 miles shy of the Montana border! Montana will be a looooooong state! North Dakota has been pretty long – about 352 miles or so. Montana looks to be about 650 miles. Hope to get there in mid October!

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How you are celebrating the first day of summer? Cho Cho wants to know!

>Ready, set, flap your wings! We were for sure these birdies were going to fledge today! Instead they just kept teasing us by practicing flapping their wings and pecking at insects on the deck awning!

>We were watching the blue jays this morning and two of the babies were stretching their wings, flapping them at the edge of the nest. Their wings were blue and white. The other three babies are still more gray and fuzzy so they look to be a few days behind. Here they are awake with Mama. The one of the right is gray and fuzzy, but the tall one in the back is one of the two that look ready to fledge (in my complete nonexpert opinion)! And, also here Ms. Cho standing guard (the nest is on top of the light near the wind chimes). Also, a few more views of the brood!

>The baby blue jays are growing up fast, and their parents are becoming super protective. Speedracer is going to go out in full armor (bike helmet, lab safety goggles, etc.) to get some better footage. If you come even within 5 feet mama or papa will buzz you! We read that blue jay babies fledge at about 21 days but that time period can be longer if the brood is large (we have 5) and if weather/feeding conditions are not good. The babies on our deck hatched on May 30th, so they are about 12 days old now. We have been putting some whole peanuts with shells out on the deck that the mama and papa seem to like. Cho Cho really does keep watch. Click on the arrows in the right hand corner to get a full screen view (it is a little blurry – sorry!).

>Spit
Suck
Strut

This is what Genna & Bee taught us yesterday on our nature walk, here in Winchester. We found a honey suckle vine, and decided to taste the drops of honey. Bee & Genna really liked this, and must have picked about a hundred of them, and perfected the technique. First you bite off and spit out the little green part. Then you suck the drop of honey. Then you strut your goodness. The technique was enjoyed by all!

>We made it to Jamestown, North Dakota, or actually a few miles west of it. So glad to be done with Minnesota! May saw 155 miles of running through lots of rain and warmer temps. For Speedracer it meant running in Canada while for me i got a few miles down in the desert. That gives us 987 miles on the year. Just 18.5 away to the halfway mark! Of course the highlight of those 155 miles were the 26.2 we ran in Traverse City this past weekend. We highly recommend the Bayshore marathon to anyone interested. It is incredibly scenic, small, and very well organized. Water and gatorade station about every 1.5 miles, kind volunteers, and all around goodness. Today (June 1) is also National Running Day! So get those shoes on and get out there, even if just for a short bit. It’s kind of exciting to have the first post marathon run be on national running day. It will be a short 4 miler for sure as we’e both still a bit sore, but nice nonetheless.