Lovelorn Wasp

With lots of colds, flu, allergies, and hacking making the rounds, Teri Dashfield, who has Images by Dashfield, inspired the Average White Boys to collaborate with another obscure virtual group of allergy-infested hackers known as Violent Phlegm to form a new virtual music group called Coughing Cooties. I am happy to release the Coughing Cooties’ first single, Lovelorn Wasp.

0A6A3531

Freaking On The Food Chain

Resa, who has Graffiti Lux Art & More and Art Gowns, commented on my post Now For The Rest Of The Story earlier this afternoon with “Well, that’s something I’ve never seen. The food chain ……. is freaky.” I replied “Freaking On The Food Chain. I might have to make a song out of that phrase.” Resa, not missing a step, said “You go for it! Waiting to hear it.” After I got all my outdoors work done in the late afternoon, I came in and created Freaking On The Food Chain. It’s pretty much an improv on all tracks. Below is a photo of a couple of beavers on the opposite bank of the Rio Grande after sunset you can ponder while listening to Freaking On The Food Chain.

0A6A2849

 

Now For The Rest Of The Story

0A6A2536

If you are old enough to remember Paul Harvey, you will know where the title comes from. While I was waiting for Virginia to come out on Sunday afternoon, I heard Daddy owl hooting in a cottonwood about 100 feet from the tree with the nest. Instead of the hoots we normally hear, that sound something like “whoooo whoo whoo whoooo” in the same volume, tone and intensity, he was doing three or four hoots cut short, followed by three longer more intense hoots — “wht wht wht whoooo whoo whoo”.

When I walked over to see what Daddy owl was up to, he was chewing on something, but I couldn’t see what it was. I walked around the tree trying to see if I could get in a position where I could see what he held in his claws, but I couldn’t see what he had because of how he was perched on the cottonwood. Finally I called out to him “Hey owl, what do you have?” He then proceeded to show me that he had a bird, and made the silliest faces in the process.

I also took a short video of him hooting and gnawing on the bird. I named it Great Horned Owl with Dinner. The video is posted after the last photo.  You can hear him hoot, and watch him gnaw on his dinner. I assume he shared his bird with Virginia and Mama Owl, but I can’t say for sure, since I couldn’t stay around long enough to see the rest of that story.

0A6A2553

0A6A2563

0A6A2564

0A6A2565

0A6A2566

0A6A2568

0A6A2570

0A6A2571

0A6A2572

0A6A2581

0A6A2573

0A6A2587

Come Out Virginia

0A6A2524
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

The first line of Only The Good Dye Young, by Billy Joel, is “Come out, Virginia, don’t let me wait”. When I checked on this mama owl that has a nest in a cottonwood about a 3/4 of a mile north of us last week, it was cold and the owlet was trying to get under its Mama; therefore, all I got were photos of its fluffy tail end.  This afternoon Mama was sitting on the edge of the nest, and I could see the tip top of the owlet’s fuzzy head. Since the binomial name for Great Horned Owls is Bubo virginianus, I borrowed the line from Billy Joel and said “Come out, Virginia, don’t make me wait.” As I changed my position under the cottonwood, I saw an eye peak out from one side of the “V” at the edge of the nest. From there, the owlet and Mama got into a variety of cute poses for me. They we quite animated in the bright, hot sun.

0A6A2475

0A6A2480

0A6A2483

0A6A2486

0A6A2495

0A6A2496

0A6A2498

0A6A2499

0A6A2508

0A6A2516