Lots To Look At

Bazooka’s fist Dragonfly

Major Tom Peepers, Sleepy and Mona Lisa.

Finch

We finally got Laurie’s new MacBook Air M1 so I could have my MacBook Pro that I use for recording back. The first thing I did after I got Laurie’s new M1 set up yesterday was to go into the studio and re-record the lead guitar parts and cleaned up some parts with the bass and rhythm guitar where I was out of compás in Wood Duck Daze. Then I put the new track with the video. I think there are still one or to rough spots, but overall it’s much improved and the lead guitars are really wild like those crazy Wood Ducks.

Tabatha Towhee gave us her rendition of Habanera from Carmen by Bizet.

Bravo! Bravo! Tabatha Towhee.

On the flip side.

Well done Tabatha.

Major Tom Peepers and Mona Lisa.

Lizards looking for love. The male, above, was chasing the female, below. He was doing a bobbing lizard dance for her.

Larry Lizard

Lorena Lizard

All three owlets snoozing.

Altisimo in profile.

America

Mama Owl

Lady Banks in her massive Glory.

Honeysuckle

Mona Lisa and Major Tom Peepers. Sleepy is, you guessed it, sleeping.

Lilac

A pearlet on Marina’s Incognito Pear Tree.

Mona Lisa and Major Tom Peepers posing.

“Hey Mona. I think we need to get that stupid Paparazzo to build us a shade structure.”

Cloud Shapes

Three doves and a dragon.

Sunset nebula.

Intermission: Major Tom Peepers practicing his noble stances. Mona Lisa and Sleepy look on from the nest.

Ghostly

Snakebite, dragon and a bunny

Snakebite

Let Them Eat Duck

Major Tom Peepers out of the nest, Mona Lisa getting ready to get out of the nest.

All three owlets got out of the nest tonight. Sleepy finally got out but then fell back into the nest. Daddy Owl caught and something and brought it to Mama Owl. They tore it apart and then Mama Owl flew it over to the owlets and fed them. Dinner turned out to be a duck. It got too dark to get decent photos of the whole feeding, but Mama Owl tore pieces of the portion of the duck she had, gave the smaller pieces to Major Tom Peepers and Mona Lisa, and the largest portion to Sleepy. Sleepy is the runt, and Mama Owl is taking extra care of him. Since it’s late, I put the photos in a gallery that you can click on and have a slide show of the owlets getting out of the nest and the feeding.

The Sacrifice

I buried a raccoon pup at dawn
Found him by the steps
Heartless and emptied
Secretly sacrificed
Under half-moon? Rose at two
Such a mystery

With last rites fitting any innocent soul
Tucked in under spadefuls of sandy soil
Laid to rest, secured for eternity
A spark of life lit
Snuffed, sacrificed
So much misery

The poem above was inspired by a poor baby raccoon, gutted and left near our doorstep. I don’t know what killed it, but it seemed very sacrificial. I’m packing several day’s worths of photos into this post because of the possibility that other things will come up, and many of the photos not get posted.

Click on the galleries below to see a slideshow of the photos in their correct aspect ratios.

Grosbeaks, Hummer, and Towhee the Line

I am Wood Duck hear me roar!

Got Your Goose and Goslings with Cormorant

Cooper’s Hawks’ Hanky Panky

Fuzzette, Major Tom Peppers out of the nest with Mona Lisa and Sleeping still in the nest, Mama Owl, Daddy Owl, Daddy Owl, Mama Owl, Daddy Owl

Bazooka’s First Bats

As the dusk turned to darkness, bats fluttered around, buzzing by me with their quick, erratic flight patterns. I tried my best to focus on their silhouettes and capture their erratic movements. These are the results of Bazooka’s (my large 400mm lens) first bats.

Bazooka’s first squirrel.

Bazooka’s first Night Heron at night.

The Night Heron at night brought to light.

¡Un Dos Tres¡ Pink Moon… NOT! Again!

One Owlet. Major Tom Peepers.

Two Owlets. Mona Lisa and Major Tom Peepers

Three Owlets. Mona Lisa, Major Tom Peepers and ????

How about Sleepy for the third Owlet?

Actually Major Tom Peepers ran out of steam, also.

Sweet dreams Major Tom Peepers.

Mona Lisa and Major Tom Peepers thought it was a little bright out as you can see them squinting in the next two photos.


Another year. Another no show for the Pink Moon. Marina had clicked on my Pink Moon post from last year and reminded me that tonight is April’s full moon (maybe April’s fool moon) known as the Pink Moon.

Cloud cover thwarted me again. The Pink Moon would have risen near the towers.

The extent of the pink southeast of the Sandias.

We got a slight big of clearing to the west.

Fuzzette

Under crystal clear, blue skies I made a very interesting discovery.

Fuzzette, Fuzzy, and Nora Owl

Fuzzy has a big sister, Fuzzette, who Nora Owl finally allowed to come out into the world so we can admire her beauty and cuteness.

Ducks in a row.

Fuzzette

Sucker

Fuzzy

Fish

Osric Owl napping in his outpost about 200 feet from Fuzzette, Fuzzy, and Nora Owl.

Bucky Bullfrog

Fuzzette

Marina’s Incognito Pear Tree looking rather pear-shaped.

Nora Owl napping with her ear tufts blowing in the wind.

And you thought Unicorns were equestrians!

Fuzzette is rather intense.

Tulip tortured by the heat and sun.

Fuzzy wide-eyed and presumably bushy tailed.

Lady Banks

Fuzzette has expressive eyes.

Tulip with a slight blush of pink.

Osric Owl doing ear tuft semaphore.

A sunny bunny.

¡Adios muchachos, muchachas!