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
Peter was deeper in the darker bosque on his own last night.
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.
When I first walked up to the tree where I could see Mama Owl and Peter, Mama Owl looked like she was chewing on her paw. Then she started nuzzling Peter. I could not tell if she was trying to feed him something or groom him. She finally noticed the clicks of my shutter and looked back with a look of “Who’s that clickity clacking a camera behind my back?” She had a squint like Clint, with her ear tufts back, and looked rather mean and bothered. I said, “It is only I the lowly paparazzo!” She seemed to recognize me and put her ear tufts up giving me a little happier look.
Mary stretched her wing trying to wake up. Daddy was getting a little shuteye. Mary couldn’t get up so Paul decided to snooze as well.
Mary finally woke up enough to peek out over the edge of the nest and say hello.
Mama Owl giving a hoot at sunset.
Mary and Paul made flew to the big trunk on the tree.
Mary on the side of the truck above Paul in the crotch of the tree.
May Flower Moon Rising through the clouds.
As the old adage of Murphy’s law states: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” While we have had clear night skies for weeks out here, the night we the super bloody May flower moon rise, and go through a bloody eclipse, clouds blow in. I really can’t complain, I got the full eclipse and bloody moon, but then I felt a warm wind on my shoulder and clouds blew in a covered the moon. Therefore, I did not get the second half of the eclipse. However, the clouds added some interest before the covered up the moon completely. At least the clouds could do is rain on us, but so far only a lot of hot wind.
I started photographing the moon at the river, but once it was in the clouds, I photographed the rest of what I was able to get of the eclipse from our property.
The May Flower moon rising with the eclipse just starting.
Photos for the night sky and eclipse taken with my iPhone.
The clouds added interest to the eclipse.
The total eclipse before the thick clouds blew in and covered up the moon.
Jupiter and Venus were sitting side by side as they rose a little after 5:00 am. Mars and Saturn were in line with Venus spread out at almost equidistance between each. The sky was smokey from forest fires, and Saturn was in the smoke lit up by the light pollution from the city.
Jupiter with two moons showing. Venus to the right.
Mars is a red point of light.
I was able to get the rings of Saturn through the light pollution and smoke. Saturn does not have good visibility right now. In June it will have excellent visibility, so I should get much better photos of the rings in June.
The early morning sky viewed directly above me.
I swept the floors this morning. Glenda thought I was making room for her to bring in more loads of dirt, which she did.
Mama Owl was perched on the edge of the nest at 4:30 this afternoon before she flew off in search of food. An owlet waited patiently.
Behind all those clouds Jupiter and Venus were conjoining. It’s supposed to be clear on Friday morning for the second conjunction of Jupiter and Venus.
Since I couldn’t see the conjunction, I was hoping for a colorful sunrise, but no such luck.
Tommy Towhee on a power line.
While it might look like Daisy Duck was gabbing to Donald Duck, she was chasing insects.
A very large wasp ran up to me and then turned and retreated when I moved my foot.
Daisy and Donald kept flying by us and landing ahead of us.
Mama Owl, Tres Wowlets, and Daddy Owl.
Donald and Daisy otra vez.
Clouds over Resa’s, Tiffany’s, and Gigi’s trees in the late afternoon.
Jupiter, Neptune, Venus, Mars, and Saturn lined up early this morning. Uranus was not visible from Albuquerque, which is just fine. Mercury rises too late to be seen in the morning.
Smoke and Ice at a medieval dinner last night.
Butterfly on the bank in the late afternoon
Mama Owl, a Wowlet, and Daddy Owl late this afternoon.
Off Center & Not Even 