Flicka Dahling

A flicker stayed still long enough for me to photograph him.

Mama Owl peeking over the edge.

Daddy Owl preening and proud of it.

Peek-a-Daddy-Owl-Boo. What’s up, Daddy Owl?

Talons

Hanging on in the wind

Dawn At Work

7:00 am (formerly known as 6:00 am) at the office. The sky was wild.

5:00 pm (formerly known as 4:00 pm) when I got home from work. The sky was wild.

6:20 pm (formerly known as 5:20 pm), the almost full March Moon, AKA Worm Moon, would have been rising over the mountains. No moon, but the sky was wild.

Tangle Heart Tree pinching March Clouds.

A wild sky over the Rio Grande and Sandias. The cranes are gone.

When I walked out to Fourth of July Point where I took the above photo, I didn’t see or hear D Wowl. On my way back I heard D Wowl hoot from one of his trees between the clearwater ditch and the irrigation ditch. I couldn’t see him in the darkness, so I called out “Where are you Daddy Owl?” He flew out of the tree and landed on a branch next to me. He didn’t say a word, simply posed. I told him that I had posted photos of him two nights in a row and that everyone was going to get tired of seeing him. I don’t think he believed me.

I continued walking north, and I made a side trip to Beaver Point. D Wowl flew to one of his favorite perches near Beaver Point as I walked by.

D Wowl

Daddy Owl (Wowls as Shey’s grandson calls them) might be a little lonely with Mama Owl in her nest. I got home late again, went out at dusk, and Daddy Owl was sitting in a cottonwood looking at the levee. I tried to get his attention, but we gave me a side glance Like “Don’t bother me, Boy!” He flew down onto the lower bank of the levee. I thought he might have pounced on gopher, so was looking for him on the bank with the Bazooka through the tangle of twigs. While I was looking for him I heard a very loud and insistent hoot right in front of me. I looked up and he was perched on a branch above me with a look like “Are you looking for me? Well, here I am!” I moved around to see if he had a gopher, but as you can see in the first photo above, his talons are empty. He hooted at me, fluffed up, shook himself, then he took off and flew to another cottonwood in the cover of darkness.

Almost full

Evening Blue

For the first evening that we are trying to save the daylight, which, by the way, is not endangered out here, the Painter went a little wild jamming with the clouds.

Venus and Mars showed up at 6:30 am, the time formerly known as 5:30 am.

Daddy Owl enjoying the colors

Calling All Colors

Resa’s tree kissed colorful Dawn

Cracked clouds strangled sun

Cracked clouds covered Corrales

The Rio Grande eats bank crumbles

Clouds collided

Cranes look north anticipation

A final gasp glowing color

Daddy perches tangled arches

Tangle Heart pinches purple

Exchange

Dawn

I didn’t see Daddy Owl when I first went out tonight, and Mama Owl’s ear tufts just barely showed in her nest. I walked over to see the cranes. On the way back from the cranes I could hear Mama Owl hooting from her nest, but there was no answer from Daddy Owl. When I got up to our gate, I heard Daddy Owl answering with different hoots than the normal hoots when he answers Mama Owl. It was getting dark, but I walked down to see what was up with Daddy Owl. He had a gopher. He sat on a large branch and continued his hooting. When the dusk was almost darkness, I saw the silhouette of Mama Owl pop up out of the nest. The Bazooka could not focus on her in the darkness. She flew over to Daddy Owl, he gave her the gopher, and she flew back to her nest. I got a blurry shot right after Daddy Owl gave Mama Owl the gopher.

You can see how much bigger Mama Owl is than Daddy Owl.

Almost half-moon tonight