Activities and Animals

This is me on the left practicing with a choral group. I was singing tenor with the sister to the right of me and get this. She was a member of the Mormon Tabernacle choir. She has been helping me learn how to sing the alto and tenor parts. She is very generous with her talents.

Another one of the "magical" experiences I am having here in Nauvoo.
We are in the process of doing inventory and specialized cleaning of the historic sites before the crowds start in the spring. Here I am in the Blacksmith shop.

We got a snowfall today, but this is Dad in front of our house shoveling after a snowfall last month.

Two weeks ago we had the annual eagle festival in the area and this bird is the ambassador. Bald eagles are almost backyard birds here in Nauvoo. We see them flying over all the time.

This owl also visited as a fellow bird of prey.

For all the Harry Potter fans this is that kind of owl. It is much like the owls we used to have in our tree rows at home.

This is a tree that Dad helped to fell as part of his winter work. The trees around here tend to rot in the middle, probably because of the shallow ground. When the tree went down a racoon ran out of the top of the tree. It reminded us of your childhood toy that Grandpa Cook gave you. Remember the Ranger set had a racoon that fit in the hole of the tree?

This is a muskrat home on a backwater area on the Mississippi river near Nauvoo.

This is the muskrat village. The wild animals here seem to sense the peace of Nauvoo and they seem quite accessible. Maybe they know we are devoted to spreading the news about their creator. That's Iowa across the river.