Between Biblical and The Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything

My friend Ron, who was born four days after me in the same hospital, we grew up together, and there is not I time that we can remember not knowing each other, sent me a photo of my horoscope as part of his wishing me a happy birthday. He commented that 41 days was an odd number of days to be extraordinarily lucky. Forty-one is truly an odd number, and prime, as it is only divisible by 1 and 41, and I told him it was odd because it was between Biblical and the answer to life, the universe, and everything. The horoscope is very positive. Another interesting aspect of the horoscope is that the first four of my lucky numbers add up to be my age, and the fifth number is Biblical.

I ended up doing a lot of errands on the way home from work, and a lot of different chores after I got home this afternoon. The weather was clouds moving through, being pushed by high winds and the temperature had dropped significantly from yesterday. Well after sundown, facing wind and cold, I walked out to the river and got photos of the cranes in the darkness, the wild clouds, and the colors lingering in the dusk.

Dusk View

There are fewer cranes as they are starting to head north.

pTerodactyl at dusk.

More hangers-on

Daddy Owl is not perching for long at dusk. He is flying off in search of food for Mama Owl.

The pTerodactyl looking beautifully blue-gray in the twilight.

Are you there in the darkness Mama Owl?

Yes, she is there sitting on her eggs.

Critter Update

Daddy Owl silhouetted at dusk

Last night there was not much of a sunset, but daddy owl flew up on a tree well after sundown so we could see him in silhouette. He stayed on the tree until I was able to walk around where I could get him in profile in the afterglow. An Osprey flew overhead and then a beaver was out basking in the twilight on the east bank of the river.

Daddy Owl in profile at twilight

Osprey overhead

Beaver basking in the twilight

Beaver on the east bank grooming at twilight

Owl Season’s Underway

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A couple we often see in the bosque, told me they had just discovered the nesting place of a pair of owls last night. When I got to the nesting area a few minutes later, there were two owls to be seen — a larger owl in a cottonwood, and another, smaller owl, in an elm tree next to the cottonwood.  The larger female was out taking a break, I presumed.  She was hooting up a storm on her perch in the cottonwood. The smaller owl was perched on a limb, a silent sentry, very alert, guarding the area.   The sun had been down for fifteen minutes or so, forcing me to bump up my ISO to 3200 to get a somewhat sensible shutter speed. As I was photographing the owls, a chorus of coyotes started howling from the undergrowth all around where I was standing beneath the owls. The scene became surreal as I was standing in a small clearing, darkness falling all around, the owl hooting from above, and coyotes yipping and howling in surround sound.

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Hooting. I wonder if you pushed up on the tail feathers of a Great Horned Owl if it would hoot.

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She spies something in the distance.

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Ready. Set…

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¡Hasta la vista!