Our dear friend, Doris Mager, came through Evergreen to stay with us a couple days before heading on to Washington to spend Christmas with her son. Doris travels the country giving educational presentations at elementary schools, state parks, nursing homes... anywhere she can, to teach people about birds of prey. Many years ago, she formed her non-profit organization called S.O.A.R., which stands for Save Our American Raptors. I can't even begin to tell you all the amazing things this incredible woman has done in her 44 years of working with birds. She used to work with eagles, but as she's gotten older, she can no longer handle the heavier birds. She currently travels with four birds... a Great Horned Owl, a Crested Caracara, a Screech Owl, and a American Kestrel (Sparrowhawk). She wanted to do a presentation while she was here to keep the birds working, so I invited a couple of homeschooling groups. We ended up having about 40 people squeeze into my garage to be mesmerized by her stories and her beautiful birds of prey.
Above she is talking to the group about her darling little screech owl. The group loved her, as they always do!
The following day, we did a little sightseeing with her and took her up Lookout Mountain to see Buffalo Bill's grave.
The boys had a fun time dressing up like cowboys in the museum.
Before she left, she let us handle the birds. Below is me with E.T. (stands for Extra Terrific), the Great Horned Owl.
E.T. is 26 years old and has been in Doris' care the entire time. She was taken from the nest illegally and imprinted onto a human, so she was assigned to Doris since she would never be able to survive in the wild. Doris uses E.T. to educate kids on why we don't ever take birds from their nest.
Doris is able to tickle E.T. on the beak and feathers, but no one else would ever get away with such a thing! It's amazing to see her relationship with this gorgeous bird.
Below is Mason holding Cara. She is a 33 year old Crested Caracara... and possibly the oldest in captivity!
Cara was legally taken very young for research purposes, but has been in Doris' care for the last 26 years. Cara is very friendly and loves for you pet her on the head. We didn't keep her out here very long, because she's originally from Florida and this Colorado mountain weather was not her cup of tea! See how her feathers are all ruffled out?! She was C-O-L-D!
It is always a joy to spend time with Doris... she has truly become a cherished member of our family.
Michele
So what could be better than a vacation where you get to go skiing AND hold a Great Horned Owl all in the same trip?! :)
We also saw lots and lots of bunnies and chickens in all shapes & colors, and even saw some llamas, which was especially neat since we just finished studying the Incans who placed tremendous value on llamas. The boys saw some bees in action, Mason made some rope, and Maddox got to ride a real pony named Dolly! 
Then we had a picnic lunch before heading back home for juggling practice.
We're all doing well and we hope you are too! We have a fun surprise trip planned for this weekend... I'll be sure to share it with you when we return!
Above is Mason on one of our new sleds... we have affectionately named it "Zippy". It's very different from any sled we've ever used, but after you get used to it, it's pretty fun! Below is Morgan on our other new sled. It's basically two skis with a seat and it goes FAST!
Of course, Maddox got in on the action by hitching a ride with anyone who'll take him...
...and finally, he got brave enough to attempt Zippy all by himself!
Great fun was had by all... and no one got hurt, so that's an added bonus. :)
It's been many years since I've driven a car on a regular basis, but the initial weird-ness of feeling as if I'm sitting on the pavement has passed and I'm now enjoying zipping around in the little thing! And grocery shopping is a dream! No more hoisting my little self up into that huge Sequoia... well, we still have it because it's great for road trips. But the poor thing is just sitting all alone wondering why it's being neglected... or maybe it's just happy to be in park. :)
Maddox doesn't care to wear skates, so he just gets pulled in the sled!
The boys certainly surprised me with their talent on the ice. They were speeding along like they do it all the time! They've been on ice rinks before... not a lot, but they've been on ice. Well, this ice is VERY different. It has ruts and grooves and cracks (yes, cracks!) and is not smooth by any stretch of the imagination! Oh, and there's NO walls to cling to!
But they skated along like they've been doing it all their life. I suppose the in-line roller hockey helped out quite a bit.
Me, on the other hand... I just couldn't quite keep my feet steady! I don't remember having this much trouble on an ice rink, but it didn't matter. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it truly helped it feel like Christmas!
When Maddox had had enough, he and I sat on the side and watched... and amused ourselves with the camera.
Truly a wonderful memory!
Above she is talking to the group about her darling little screech owl. The group loved her, as they always do!
The boys had a fun time dressing up like cowboys in the museum.
Before she left, she let us handle the birds. Below is me with E.T. (stands for Extra Terrific), the Great Horned Owl. 
E.T. is 26 years old and has been in Doris' care the entire time. She was taken from the nest illegally and imprinted onto a human, so she was assigned to Doris since she would never be able to survive in the wild. Doris uses E.T. to educate kids on why we don't ever take birds from their nest. 
Doris is able to tickle E.T. on the beak and feathers, but no one else would ever get away with such a thing! It's amazing to see her relationship with this gorgeous bird.
Cara was legally taken very young for research purposes, but has been in Doris' care for the last 26 years. Cara is very friendly and loves for you pet her on the head. We didn't keep her out here very long, because she's originally from Florida and this Colorado mountain weather was not her cup of tea! See how her feathers are all ruffled out?! She was C-O-L-D!
It is always a joy to spend time with Doris... she has truly become a cherished member of our family.