I remember traveling through Nebraska occasionally when my parents were driving back and forth to the West Coast. I loved the solitude, but it does take special kind of person to live it. I lived for awhile in Kansas, a state right under Nebraska, when my first husband was an engineer for a pipeline. It was just a short jaunt for us to go across the Oklahoma panhandle into Texas, so where we lived had more of a S.W. taste than Nebraska, and lacked those beautiful hills. Coming from an area with hilly terrain, and then being transplanted for many more years as a young adult in equally hilly terrains of the Ozarks, I felt desperately out of place in the sandy flatlands. What strikes me most about the interior prairies of this country are the extremes. You are either freezing to death, burning up, wishing for rain, or dodging tornadoes. But, the creatures who live there, and the miles and miles of openness are haunting and beautiful.

Update! After the female's release, I didn't see either crane for almost a month. Then, a couple of weeks ago, she showed up, looking emaciated and frightened. Her foot was still swollen and she seemed to favor it a little. The male was nowhere to be seen. Well, this morning they came in for a noisy landing in my front yard. I rushed their breakfast out to them. They both crowded up to me and I was able to get a good look at the female's feet. The swelling had gone down and the toe didn't shrivel and drop off as predicted. With the exception of a light-colered scar, the injured foot looked just like the other one. She had gained weight and was as sassy as ever! After breakfast, they both kept me company all day while I repaired my outboard motor out in the yard. My family is back together! Praise the Lord!

@donka wow, thanks for thinking outside the box. I was trying to make the island big enough to be functional and seat two BUT small enough to also have a dining table. What an ingenious idea to just make the island the table!!! By the way, is my math correct? Is your kitchen approximately 19ft x 12ft? Id love to see pictures of it once your camera is fixed. My house is small too, about 1200sq ft, and the current dining room is, in my opinion, over-sized & under-used. It was built in 1920 and Ive been told that dining rooms were a big deal back then. Oh well, "one mans treasure" I guess. @lisa_a I agree, the two foot skinny table does seem makeshift (good word). I definitely like donkas suggestion and am going to play around with it on paper. What Im really trying to go for is the "feeling" that there is still a dining room in the house, not just a living room & a kitchen (know what I mean)? Thanks a million for all the inspiration pics!!! Some of them are darn near spot on (youre good). That last one really caught my eye with those doors in the upper cornertheyre orientation is identical to my layout. Thanks again. By the way, what is a boxerpup? @cheri127 After looking at the inspiration pics from lisa_a, I really like the "attached" lowered table idea. Ive always preferred counter height seating but Im about 6ft tall. However, I recently had a baby so now I have to re-think everything (like maybe its not a good idea to feed the baby at counter height, LOL). Funny how that happens. For instance, "only" two bedrooms were fine with me when I bought the house but whod a thunk Id be a mother at nearly 40. Shes only 5months old right now but in about 13yrs or so, I predict I will really need that third bedroom. @lisa_a I may have misrepresented my motivation. I want a new kitchen and a third bedroom, but Ive wanted the kitchen first. When I purchased this house, I did so with plans to renovate the horribly outdated, under-functional, cluster-fudge of a kitchen (see pics below). While interviewing construction contractors for the project, I was constantly reminded that "a third bedroom would increase resale value". This sales pitch was lost on me because I didnt need a third bedroom (I was planning to transition from young-single to empty-nester in this home) and was not thinking of selling, ever! But, flash forward five years to present day and my demographic has changed from young-single to single-mother. Still dont have that new kitchen and that third bedroom just got bumped up the priority list (not right now, but in 10-15 yrs maybe). I have no desire to sell my house but one should never say never, right? Besides, renovating the kitchen in its current location is really expensive because its soooo outdated, has galvenized pipes & knob-tube wiring. Plus, moving it only raises the cost by 3-5% so I figure might as well kill two birds with one stone (just in case I have to sell or miracle baby #2 shows up). The family room is just a "while m dreaming" wish. As for the dishwasher, I wont be putting one in my kitchen because Im not reselling but if in 10yrs the need arises, is it really that difficult to replace a base cabinet with a dishwasher? THE OUTDATED KITCHEN (these understate the issue, will upload more pics soon)

Very cute little merganser there! I don't know much about duck migration but I checked Birds of North America Online (Cornell subscription site) and they say "Spring A late migrant and breeder. First migratory movement in Mar, intensifies in Apr; most breeders arrive on breeding grounds mid-to late May." and "At Cape May, NJ, overall numbers begin to decline mid-Apr; few observed after late May (Sibley 1993). In Massachusetts, movements late Mar–May with peak of 15,000 observed in Cape Cod Bay, 31 Mar 1984 (Veit and Petersen 1993). Winter birds depart Boston Harbor, MA, late Mar (Miller 1996). In Vermont, move mid-Mar–mid-May (Laughlin and Kibbe 1985)" It sounds like they all should be gone from CT soon and are unlikely to breed in your area. That said, I saw the first Brown Thrasher of the season today - they do breed here. Here with a Red-winged Blackbird: One of my favorite birds (I have a whole lot of favorite birds). Claire