Big Brook (Shark Hunters)

Jen, Ryan, and I spent another Saturday with Aunt Stef, Brett, and Thomas. Today we went to Big Brook, it is famous for its' prolific fossils, especially the diverse and plentiful shark teeth. A special thanks to my coworker Mike, without his recommendation and map we would have never even known about this place.

Finding shark teeth wasn't hard at all, Aunt Stef got us started followed by Aunt Jen, before you knew it the boys and I got on the scoreboard and we all ended up with around 10 teeth on the day. Our finds included Goblin and Thresher shark teeth, brachiopod and squid fossils, and one dinosaur bone (according to Thomas). According to the boys we were "shark hunters", and it turned out to be a very enjoyable morning, I'm sure we'll be heading back sometime soon...(see some more pictures from today in the slideshow to the right).

Monroe Spray Ground

Saturday was spent with Nana, Aunt Stef, Brett, and Thomas. We went over to the just recently opened Veterans Park in Monroe (less then 5 minutes away). The area includes a spray park as well as a playground. The kids had a lot of fun, especially Ryan who could not get enough of the water.

Fathers Day Fishing

Fathers Day was spent fishing with the Makowsky's. Today was Brett and Thomas's first time freshwater fishing (they each caught several fish, Brett even caught one with no assistance). Uncle Jon caught a catfish and almost caught a snapping turtle, Jen fished Bear Grylls style and caught two fish without a pole, Aunt Stef was busy handing out snacks and taking photos, and of course Ryan and I enjoyed catching numerous Bluegills (sunnys).

The best part of fishing today was Bretts reaction to the fish, as you can see from the posted video he is just a little afraid when we bring them out of the water. Brett did feel more comfortable with them as the day went on, but the first few we caught his reactions were priceless.

I think we will be making more fishing trips this summer, we just have to make sure we buy Uncle Jon a push-button Disney themed pole of his own...

Ryan's Allergy Update

As you all know, Ryan has had a milk allergy since he was a newborn, he has been tested annually and the results keep getting better. His latest test came back with a level 1 allergy (it was previously a level 2). This means that he is outgrowing this allergy.

What this means? Ryan can start to try small quantities of foods that contain milk, cheese, whey, and casein ingredients. Of course, all closely monitored and in moderation, but he should be able to handle foods that contain milk such as cookies, cake, crackers, etc.

Ryan was very brave on Thursday when Mommy took him to go give blood. Ryan said he wasn't scared when he entered the exam room and continued to talk to the nurses throughout the whole process (I think Mom had a much tougher time then Ryan).

Today we gave Ryan several cheddar cheese flavored Goldfish. He loved them and they had no adverse affects on him (he passed the first test). Over the next few days we will continue to try some new foods. Ryan has always been very aware of his allergy, so he is very excited to be able to try new foods.

ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM

Last week Jen, Ryan, and I were on our way to the park in Helmetta when we spotted an injured bird in distress on the side of the road. Of course I pulled over to investigate and it turned out to be a juvenile Downy Woodpecker. The downy must have flown into a car and injured its wing and beak. We took it home and I brought it with me to work (Ryan was sad to see him go) the following day so I could make some phone calls and bring the woodpecker to a proper rehabilitation facility.



After many phone calls leading to dead ends, my coworker Alyssa (another nature lover) and I realized the Raptor Trust near the Great Swamp (1 hour away) was our only option. After work in North Bergen we decided to make the trip (the downy was taking water from us all day but not food). Of course I got lost (still not sure why I keep convincing myself I don't need a GPS) and made many U-turns on country roads, unbelievably we drove right past another injured bird in the middle of the street (it wasn' there 2 minutes earlier when I went the wrong way). We pulled over and Alyssa came back to the truck with another woodpecker (this time it was a much larger adult Northern Flicker). What were the odds, anyway he looked worse off then the downy (tongue sticking out of the mouth and not moving), but we decided to take him along to the Raptor Trust too.

We finally arrived and the staff was surprised we brought them two woodpecker's instead of the one we had originally spoken to them about (I think they thought we were crazy). Anyway by the time we got there the flicker was doing much better and both birds seemed to have a great chance of survival.

We got an update 2 days later, they told us the downy had a strained wing and will live with several other birds until it is strong enough to be released, the flicker was doing great and they actually planned on releasing him the next day in the same area that we found him. The staff did tell us that if we did not come to their aid, both birds chances of survival were slim, they said the downy would have most likely been easy prey for as predator or another car, and the flicker was in shock when we found him and would not have moved on his own (not a good idea when your in the middle of the road).

Ryan still asks about his friend, but knows he is back flying with his mommy and daddy, I'm just glad there was a happy ending to this very unusual set of events...

First Fish Video