Mom's Day

Last Sunday we celebrated Mother’s Day with the usual tradition of taking a driving tour at the Kootenai Wildlife Refuge near Bonners Ferry. It was a gorgeous sunny day and our first stop was at the headquarters so the granddaughters could look through the telescopes and find some geese. They also enjoyed seeing a replica of an eagle’s nest and watching hummingbirds at a feeder. As we proceeded through the refuge on the dike road, we were greeted by several broods of new goslings, a turtle, various ducks, and an eagle setting in a tree. We were watching the eagle and noticed the old nest in a large cottonwood was gone but knew the eagle acted like there was another one nearby. Just then we saw the eagle’s mate fly up from some tall grass with its talons full of dry grass. The eagle flew directly over us about twenty feet off the ground and dropped the grass into a nest that contained its young. The parent that had been perched in the tree took flight to hunt food for the family and the other eagle remained nearby to guard the eaglets. That was not only a great Mother’s Day present; it was also a good lesson on raising children. Our tour continued as we watched hawks, deer, pheasants, and a beautiful mountain bluebird.

The whole time we were reminded how important mothers are in raising youngsters whether they are human babies or God’s wild creatures. Mothers shape the lives of their children and prepare them for life. I give credit to Ardella for the wonderful job she did raising our two daughters. Their relationship isn’t just mother and daughters; it is based on friendship and trust. The girls aren’t the only ones blessed for having Ardella as their mom, so am I.