its been a while

Hey all, sorry I haven't posted in so long. I've been working some extra hours lately and I just keep forgetting about this thing.
We have 12 whooping crane chicks that will be leaving for Necedah National Wildlife Refuge on July 21. Their names are Kohlrabi, Arugula, Yam, Chickpea, Parsnip, Rhubarb, Rutabaga, Fiddlehead, Cho-Cho, Tomatillo, Gobi, and Neep. They are all getting big so fast and they are super cute. Their ages range from about a week (only 1 of them) to slightly over a month old. Now that most of them are older they are more fun, because when we take them out for exercise they will do their own thing, instead of making you do all the work. The cutest is when they take baths - they look really funny. Today I had Arugula out and she made the cutest sounds while she drank. The chicks follow us pretty well but they like to go explore on their own too. The older ones are getting better at foraging on their own, so we don't have to pick/catch things for them as much. Today Arugula caught some baby grasshoppers, a small beetle, and a water strider on her own. Work has been pretty busy due to the chicks - we are all up there any time we can be. All of the chicks have to get exercised (taken out in the yards) twice a day. Some are going out for 1.5 hours, while others are going out for closer to 3 hours at a time. The three oldest can be left out on their own though so that is nice. There are also a few chicks that have to swim every day due to leg issues. There are morning and afternoon cleaning duties as well as a night check. We also constantly check temperatures in the chick runs to make sure they are in a decent range. I know some people have been wanting to see the infamous crane costume, so I got some pics today - hope you enjoy http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=6avavo35.bjds1jf9&x=0&y=-vjvc0p&localeid=en_US