The Beaver Moon rose in the northeast on November 30th. I had to photograph it through the cottonwoods to get its yellow color when it was just above the horizon. A Beaver Moon in cottonwoods seemed most appropriate. This Beaver Moon was also the last penumbral lunar eclipse of the year.
On October 28, 2020, I posted One, Three, Four with five photos of Sandhill Cranes. Marina Kanavaki at Marina Kanavaki dot com commented: “One, three, four, three, three… that would make a very interesting beat!” I replied “¡Sí! C Em F Em Em as in C EmEmEm FFFF EmEmEm EmEmEm repeat.” I wrote lyrics and played the 1, 3, 4, 3, 3 chord progression on the guitar and recorded Cranes in the Key of C. I put the song together with footage of cranes flying above me, in a field, and over the Rio Grande.
Coming in from the north.
The crow highway was in full swing at dusk with thousands of crows flying south over the Rio Grande and bosque.
Heading south.
The Sandias in dusk purple make a beautiful background.
A lone crow taking a break in a cottonwood that stands between the clearwater ditch and the irrigation ditch.
Corrales B-9 Fire Truck
We went out for a walk on the ditch after sundown. The Corrales Fire Department was working at the bridge setting out water for use in putting out bosque fires. As anyone who has followed this blog for a while knows, I often complain about the Conservancy tearing out the beaver dams because the beaver dams were keeping the water levels up in the clearwater ditch that created a wetland for many species that live in Corrales and many other species that stop in Corrales on their migrations. Another thing the beaver dams provided was water for the Corrales Fire Department to fight bosque fires. There is an arsonist who’s been starting bosque fires, and there is so little water in the clearwater ditch right now that a fire pump sucks the ditch dry in minutes. The Fire Department is building dams in the ditch to try and raise the water level, plus they are adding water to the ditch. However, without the dams, the added water will just flow downstream and soak into the mud. By removing the beaver dams, the Conservancy has created a really serious problem for all the critters and people who live along the Rio Grande.
Here’s Bite Em On The Old Shin Bone for anyone who hasn’t seen it.
Chem-trail in the dark
Moon and Tangle Heart Tree
Sandias mostly covered by clouds
Holly’s Tangle Heart Tree
Shehanne’s Tree
Even the sky is split in these contentious times.
From the levee looking west.
Resa’s Tree
Red rain approaching.
Holly’s Tangle Heart Tree.
Clouds formed the same shape as the canopy of Resa’s Tree.
Snow has fallen most of the day. After I got home, I went out and photographed the trees on our property that have been claimed.
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.
Off Center & Not Even 