One Flew Over The Moon
Category: Bosque
Stinking
I was in the infinite shed of doom measuring and taking inventory of material for a project I’m working on. When I moved some wood, a darling baby skunk ran between my legs and took refuge under another infinite pile of doom before I could get a photo of it. When I pulled a door open that acts as a wall to a caged-in area in the shed, I was face to face with Mama Skunk. She lunged at me a few times when I stuck my phone in her face, but then she finally sat back and listened to me talk to her. She never acted like she was going to spray me. It’s possible that since I only take a shower a couple of times a week to save water, and since I was dirty, sweaty, and all dressing in black, she might have thought I was a big, stinky Nephilim paparazzo, who obviously could not be a threat the way I smelled.
Mama Skunk sitting back and listening to me talk to her.
Bird Jokes
Between rains
“Did you hear about the Cormorant who was picking at beak boogers with a claw on his foot? He ‘clawboogered’ himself!”
“Bahahahahaha!”
“Wait a minute. That’s not funny!”
“Okay already! Quit looking at me like that. It was just a stupid joke!”
See no fishies. Hear no fishies. Eat no fishies.
Muddy Rio
The Rio Grande is muddy after the rains.
Strawberry Moon Forever
The June Moon, a super Strawberry Moon, rose at 8:20 last night at sunset.
All the blurry streaks and dots are gnats swarming around.
Shey’s tree, colored clouds, and streaky sky with bat blurs.
Let Them Eat Snake
Clear and hot today. 103ºF (39.4ºC), not a cloud in the sky.
Peter, Paul, and Mary together at dusk.
Like typical teenagers, PP&M are easily distracted. It took a lot of effort to get all three to look at the camera.
Paul seems to be acting like he’s feeding Mary while Peter looks at other things.
All three in a tangle of branches. Paul moved down to a lower branch, and Peter flew over to the other side of the Tangle Heart Tree.
Daddy Owl showed up with a snake, perched on a branch below Peter, and started doing his “I’m back from Wowlmart, honey!” hoot for Mama Owl to come and take the snake. While he was waiting for form Mama, he was messing with the snake that started out wrapped around Daddy Owl’s leg.
Mama Owl landed on the Tangle Heart Tree with something in her beak. Daddy Owl flew over to the Tangle Heart Tree and land with the snake dangling from his beak. Before Mama Owl could hop up to where Daddy Owl was and make the exchange, Peter flew over to Daddy Owl to get the snake.
A lot of flapping of wings and gnashing of beaks took place before Peter secured the snake in his beak.
Mama Owl started up toward Peter, and Daddy flew back to Wowlmart. Mama seemed like she was trying to get Peter to take her morsel, but Peter was saying “But Mama! Can’t you see I have a snake?” Mama finally flew off and left Peter to eat his snake.
Mama flew over to a tree she often perches on by our gate to the ditch and watched the lingering colors fade away.
Sunset colors and the moon in the Tangle Heart Tree last night.
The moon at 84.8%
Two To Tangle Heart
Mary and Paul on the Tangle Heart Tree
For the summer schedule, there will be a mix of photos from yesterday and today. By the time I get finished photographing owls at dusk and sunset colors, it’s what used to be my bedtime. If I stay up processing photos taken at dusk and later, it ends up going on midnight by the time I get photos processed and posted. Today’s photos of the owls, sunset, and moon in orange clouds were taken last night. The moon at 44.3% full was taken this afternoon.
How many owlets can you find in the above photo?
Mary and Paul in the Tangle Heart tree under colored clouds and the moon.
Paul
Mama Owl brought Paul a snack of some type and then flew off in search of more.
Mary
Sunset last night.
The moon this afternoon at 44.3% full
Getting Their Wings
Daddy Owl in silhouette at dusk.
Peter, Paul, and Mary were really testing their wings tonight. Peter and Mary were in the Tangle Heart Tree when I walked up to it tonight. Paul was on the ground hopping around about 100 yards south of the Tangle Heart Tree. Mary flew into the bosque and ended up with Paul after he flew back u into the trees. Peter flew into the bosque, back to the Tangle Heart Tree, and then into the bosque again. All three were very active while waiting for Mama and Daddy to bring them food.
Peter
Paul on the Ground
Paul after he flew back into the bosque.
Mary barfed a pellet from the Tangle Heart Tree, and then she flew over to where Paul was.
Peter and Mary in the Tangle Heart Tree.
I finished the roof over the deck this morning. The deck is several degrees cooler than the outside temperature with the new roof. The cats are happy to have the deck back.
Sunset
Dusk
Clouds descending on the moon.
Moon through the cloud cover.
Wide-view of the moon in the clouds.
Dancing With The Stars
Out at 4:00 am dancing with the stars and planets and La Llorona and Chupacraba
Since I got home late tonight, I didn’t do any redneck roofing. Instead, I went out to check on the owls. We had not seen any sign of the owls for the past 3 days. I think part of it was the fire department was running their super noisy airboat up and down the river all weekend watching for fires in the bosque. On Thursday, 30 acres of bosque burned south of Montaño Blvd., about 8 miles south of us. All was quiet tonight. The first bird I encountered looked like a juvenile Western Blue Bird. Then Daddy Owl came swooping through the property and landed on Susan’s tree. I thought he was going to get a squirrel squirreling around up ahead of me, but he didn’t go for it. But then our bunny came running out and he showed interest in the bunny. Laurie bravely stood between Daddy Owl and the bunny as we told Daddy Owl to leave our bunny be. We told him he can get all the squirrels and gophers he wants, but we draw the line when it comes to our bunny.
As we were heading to where the owlets hang out, a Cooper’s Hawk buzzed us and landed on a nearby tree for a few seconds. When I got up to the Tangle Heart Tree, Mama owl was just taking off to go shopping. The owlets were there peeping like crazy wanting Mama and Daddy to bring them food. A few minutes later Mama Owl returned and gave Mary whatever she caught. When I looked at what Mary had in her beak in the photo, it looks like a cicada, but I can’t say for sure. Mama, flew back to Wowlmart, as Shey calls it, but it was getting dark, so we didn’t stick around to see if she or Daddy Owl came back with anything interesting.
Mars and Jupiter
Western Bluebird
Daddy Owl on Susan’s tree eyeing our bunny. He gave up after we told him no.
Cooper’s Hawk
Mama Owl flying off to Wowlmart.
Smokey sunset.
Sliver moon
Owlets On The Tangle Heart Tree
Daddy Owl Shopping for dinner
Laurie was out before I was, and got Peter, Paul, and Mary on the end of the Tangle Heart Tree.
When I got up to the Tangle Heart Tree there all three owlets were in the tree, but Peter was in front of Paul and Mary was sitting on the backside of the left-hand branch.
Peter, Paul, and Mary from the backside of the Tangle Heart Tree.
Paul looking over Peter’s shoulder
The Owlets were frolicking in the Tangle Heart Tree (click on the gallery to see a slide show).
A pensive Mary
Jupiter rose a minute after Mars this morning. They were very close together. Stars in the early morning sky. The moon rose looking away from Venus.
Off Center & Not Even 