Hi TJ I looked at the beak but it seems a lot shorter than that of the Dowitcher (a short-billed one at that!). I enlarged the pic a little -does this help? Thanks Shyamala

Thanks, BN. The sunset reflected off the heron made me unsure of which kind it was. I see the Great blues here in NE Illinois quite often - look like missiles shooting through.

Looks like a Pine Grosbeak. BN

How wonderful to be living in such a beautiful area. I've been up there (in July) and it was wonderful, if still chilly. LOL. And thank you for turning the drawing around. :) How big in width is the property? I ask because the house is deep and I'm concerned that you won't be getting any natural light. North light is not great for much except as an artist. :) If you have more width, I would consider widening the house so your main rooms are getting lights from both north and south. Your southern light is being blocked by your mudroom, your laundry and your pantry. Because of that, I'm worried your house will be constantly dark. I am in SW Florida which is known for lots of sun. My friend and I went to the Parade of Homes and toured a beautiful house with the backyard facing north and the front of the house being blocked by the office, the mudroom, etc. Similar to yours. It was the middle of the day and the house was dark. Ideally you want southern light which will help warm you in winter. Please read up on passive solar/heating and cooling.I do agree with others that ideally you don't want to walk into the foyer where you greet guests and see a laundry room as one of the first rooms. You have a nice mudroom but if your kids are like mine and so many others, they will not go into the mudroom to remove their stuff and hang it up. They'll drop it where it is. That is why the best mudrooms are actually part of the entry so when you come in, your seat and cubby is right there as you walk past. Your coffee center is front and center in the kitchen but the fridge and freezer are a walk around the corner from the sink. If you stick with this floor plan, I would highly recommend posting your kitchen on the Kitchen Forum for some expert advice. I believe the kitchen could be better functioning. (Architects normally make the worst kitchen designers.) Consider putting the master bed on the living room side of the bedroom. Otherwise it's quite a hike around the bed in the middle of the night for the person who is on the side of the bed closest to the living room. I've lived in a bedroom like that and still have the bruises from banging the bed frame. If it were me, I'd probably switch the tub and bath location in the master. My thinking is I would rather walk into the bathroom and see a beautiful tub versus a shower with all the shower stuff. YMMV. Actually I'd probably flip the master bedroom with the bathroom! This way your master would have windows on two walls. A sink in the kids bedrooms is strange and then creates its own problems with water on the floors, etc. I'm also not a fan of jack and jill baths because someone is always being locked out. I also don't love that there is no natural light in the kids bath. Also there is nothing to block any sound between the two kids rooms. That is why homes normally try to put a closet between bedrooms, to act as sound barriers. Notice the gas fireplace in the dining area will make walking around the table cramped. The deck seems kind of puny with the barbecue on it. I find that when one is barbecuing, people love to congregate to talk to the chef. That's a huge mechanical room. It's larger than your living room! In this day and age, why such a large room? Where is a balcony or something overlooking your beautiful views. The house seems to be all interior space and no exterior space. Don't you want to be able to enjoy summer on an outdoor area?