The Eagle Has Landed.

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!

We have noticed that an Eagle has taken a perch in one of our trees on the meander land. This is a genuine American Bald Eagle. We've heard that a pair have taken up residence on the Yellow River nearby and this one comes to the lake to fish and catch dinner. We've nearly been struck by what the Eagle leaves behind several times. Because of this new addition to our  wonderful lake front, we have taken to calling our cottage "Eagle's Rest" to signify that the Eagle only comes to rest and watch the activity at the lake, not to nest.

 

A night on the boat....

A NIGHT ON THE BOAT

Bizzy snapped these shots of everyone heading out on the boat. Notice that there are no closeups of the boat itself. That's because even though it has been repaired enough to go out on, the damage would be noticeable. Here Grandma Jan (left) and Grandma Nancy (right) pose with Colton and Becca while I secure the pontoon boat after arriving at the pier. Sunsets are Bizzy's favorite time to shoot pics.


 

 

 

 

 

A day on the lake.

A DAY AT THE LAKE

The Sanders-Ratliff-Hill clan take a cruise on the lake on Grandpa's pontoon boat. Dad's Riviera Cruiser was caught in a storm after these pics were taken and was severely damaged; the canvas  top and frame was ripped from the boat, seats were blown into the water and the boat was turned on its side, then righted, completely thrown from the lift. We managed to repair the boat sufficiently to continue cruising on the lake, but the levels continue to drop, down nearly two feet since spring break. 

 

 

  

New Scooter

 

BECCA SHOWS OFF THE NEW SCOOTER

Becca sits on the new ICE BEAR Mojo scooter Bizzy and I recently purchased. The tricycle has a 49 cc engine and goes a max speed of about 30 mph. It has a gallon and half tank and gets about 90 miles to the gallon in usage.  We tour around the lake on it. We loved it so much that we also bought a red scooter that matches this one. With the lake water receding so much, we felt that it was nice to have something to ride on land. Oh, and the colors match the jet skis perfectly. :)

Another Bird come to visit.

ANOTHER BIRD VISITS

Bizzy caught these pics of a pigeon that had visited us recently at the lake. We think it was a carrier pigeon caught off course or wounded, something like that. Either way, this was not your ordinary everyday pigeon. It was gone a few days later.

 

Becca attends Volleyball/Basketball Camp at KHS

 

BECCA AT B-BALL/V-BALL CAMP

As soon as school was out, the camps kicked into high gear. Becca spent a week rotating between the girls' basketball and volleyball camps. We know that Becca will be a tall girl (she's grown an inch since March and now stands at 4 feet 9 inches tall) and the coaches have taken particular notice of Becca's hieght. Becca especially loved the volleyball camp and thinks she might like that as a sport. She's still unsure about basketball, even though Grandpa is pushing for her to be on the hardwood dribbling a ball.

Flowers in Bloom

 

 

 

FLOWERS IN BLOOM

These are just a few of the flowers we have growing in the yards at the Sanders-Ratliff complex. We enjoy watching them come to life every spring.

Cleaning Windows at Grandmas.

CLEANING WINDOWS AT GRANDMA'S

Becca is enjoying being out of school. One of the first things Grandma needed done at the lake was having her windows cleaned. Becca volunteered, of course, and enjoyed cleaning the windows. These look out on the lake and need to be cleaned every spring to get the dirt and grime off.

NOTE: The tree standing behind Grandma came down in a big storm not long after this picture was taken. 

 

Ready for Prom.

 HEADED FOR PROM!

Bizzy and I get our picture taken as we prepare to head to Knox High School's Prom. As principal, Biz likes to hang out with the kids and take pictures of them in their duds. I go along because I enjoy attending this end of the year activity with my wife.

The moon is blue…..

 

 These moon shots are fun.  Getting the hang of the camera settings seems to be the trick...

Bass Lake

 

MORE SHOTS OF BASS LAKE AT NIGHT

Photos by Biz Ratliff

There is nothing like a sunset at Bass Lake. Here Bizzy is shooting down the shoreline toward the sunset. These are our neighbors piers and boats. These views are looking west along the shore. If one looks hard enough, one can almost see Bizzy's cousin's boat in the distance. Her cousin, Claudia, lives about 10 houses down from us.

 

The Moon Is Out.

NIGHT OF THE MOON

Photos by Biz Ratliff

Bizzy likes to practice her night shots taking pictures of the moon. As you can see, the images have become much sharper with the black night background. Really hard to do with a camera. She uses a tripod at night to help keep the camera steady in order to shoot these shots because the shutter has to remain open longer.