Three Owlets. Mona Lisa, Major Tom Peepers and ????
How about Sleepy for the third Owlet?
Actually Major Tom Peepers ran out of steam, also.
Sweet dreams Major Tom Peepers.
Mona Lisa and Major Tom Peepers thought it was a little bright out as you can see them squinting in the next two photos.
Another year. Another no show for the Pink Moon. Marina had clicked on my Pink Moon post from last year and reminded me that tonight is April’s full moon (maybe April’s fool moon) known as the Pink Moon.
Cloud cover thwarted me again. The Pink Moon would have risen near the towers.
I got water for my first irrigation tonight. It’s so dry the land soaks up the water for a long time before it keeps flowing. Furthermore, the water level in the acequia madre keeps fluctuating, which changes the water pressure. Between bone dry land and changing water pressure, it’s going to take a long time to get everything watered tonight. I may not get everything watered tonight.
That little fuzzy head in the darkness is Mama Owl’s and Daddy Owl’s new owlet sticking its head up for the first time to say “Hello world!” I was talking to Jim between calling the owlet and taking photos, and Jim asked “Why don’t they stick their heads up when it’s light?” I told him that owls like darkness.
Mama Owl and Daddy Owl in a cottonwood in the bosque looking for Junior’s dinner.
If anyone has suggestions for names for Junior, I’m open.
“¡Hola Mundo!”
The left fork in the Y in my irrigation ditch flows through a culvert where Scrappy Skunk was sleeping. Poor Scrappy was rudely awakened by the water and he came out one end of the pipe but got offended that I was videotaping him. He crawled back in the culvert, came out the other side, went back in, and stayed in the culvert until the water got too high and finally forced him out. He was an embarrassed wet skunk when he finally climbed out of the ditch and ran off. You can watch Scrappy Skunk in all his wet glory in the video below.
I walked up to check on Fuzzy. Nora Owl was not in the nest, but Fuzzy would not look over the edge. Osric Owl was in a cottonwood about 200 feet south of Fuzzy, but he was busy looking up at something between hoots. Nora Owl was in a cottonwood about 200 feet to the northeast of Fuzzy, hooting at Osric and probably telling Fuzzy to keep his head down. The skies on the way back from visiting with the owls were nothing short of wild.
Osric Owl keeping his eye on something I couldn’t see.
Nora Owl giving me “square eyes”.
Osric Owl is looking a little thin. I think he’s overworked keeping Nora and fuzzy fed.
Spunk relaxing in on the deck rail this afternoon.
Two-Stepping To Nowhere
Music: Ron Blood & Joel Lewis. Arrangement: Joel Lewis. Rhythm Guitar: Joel Lewis. 2nd Guitar: Timothy Price. Bass: Timothy Price. Drums: Mark Simma.
Spunk: “NOOooooo! Not that stupid country song!!!”
Two-Stepping To Nowhere is a collaboration between Ron Blood, Joel Lewis, Mark Simma, and I. Ron sent Joel tracks with a bass line and Mark Simma’s drum track. Joel wanted to make a country song, so he slowed it down, which messed up the bass line, so he took out the bass. He recorded the rhythm tracks with the drum tracks playing a semi-hollow body Tele, if I remember correctly, and sent the song to Ron and me. I listened to the song, lyrics popped into my head, I wrote them down, went into the studio, added a vocal track, and sent the song with vocals back to Joel and Ron a couple of hours after Joel had sent the rhythm guitar and drum tracks. Later I added the twangy 2nd guitar playing my Black Tele, and a new bass line. It’s a really silly song, as you can see by Spunk’s reaction above. But it’s fun and funny. The lyrics are at the bottom of the post if you want to follow along.
Spunk taking over my lunch back before I got it packed this morning.
Spunk: “And YOU thing cat herding is really tough!”
Spunk: “Oh Gwedolyn! Did you really need to break wind?”
Silver planning his attack for after I turn out the lights.
A little before sunset tonight.
Two-Stepping To Nowhere Music: Ron Blood & Joel Lewis Arrangement: Joel Lewis Rhythm Guitar: Joel Lewis 2nd Guitar: Timothy Price Bass: Timothy Price Drums: Mark Simma
I barfed on my cat today He was pissed. It’s always the other way I dragged myself out of bed Stepped on cats trying to get them all fed The life of a cat herder is really tough No one ever seems to get enough
Chorus It’s like trying to glide Across the dance floor When all you do is a slide Two-Steppin’ to nowhere
I got myself made up and dandy Going to go dancing and find some candy A lovely chica got me out on the floor She looked real nice she knew the score But it was just my dumb luck I drove my car, I had left my viagra in the pickup truck
Chorus It’s like trying to glide Across the dance floor When all you do is a slide Two-Steppin’ to nowhere
Out in the truck to do some shoppin’ The County station was down, I had to listen to a dude named Chopin It’s hard on a fella and his imaging When the country chicas could hear The wussy music he was listening to
Chorus It’s like trying to glide Across the dance floor When all you do is a slide Two-Steppin’ to nowhere
I barfed on my cat today He was pissed. It’s always the other way I dragged myself out of bed Stepped on cats trying to get them all fed The life of a cat herder is really tough No one ever seems No one ever seems No one ever seems to get enough
Nora Owl deciding what to think about the chatty paparazzo.
After I got home from work, I left the laundry for tomorrow, gathered up all the energy I could, and walked the mile north to check on Nora. I ran into Leslie who was also checking on Nora. Leslie said Nora was hunkered down in her nest so she could hardly see her. When I got Nora’s tree she was pretty hunkered down in the light of the setting sun. I started talking to her and asking her if she had any owlets yet. After about ten minutes she started responding and sat up a little. Then she sat up more and look different directions. Her breast feathers looked pushed up as if she had something under them. At one point she tilted her head back and pushed her chest out, but I couldn’t really see any owlets yet. After 30 minutes of pestering poor Nora Owl with my pesky paparazzo chattiness, I left so she could sit in peace. I think the owlets have hatched, but they are still too small to poke their heads out. I think Nora Owl made her best attempt to show them to me. Osric Owl started hooting behind me. When I found him he gave me “mad dogs”.
Rebecca at Tea Toast & Trivia interviewed me on the subject of Blogging, Photography, and Connecting. You can listen to my attempts to impart words of wisdom about blogging, photography, and connecting at https://wp.me/paMWWK-Cs. I really had a great time with the interview. Rebecca and Don, who does the recording, are two of the loveliest people I have ever met.
Still giving me steal eyes while starting to sit up more.
I think this was Nora’s best attempt to expose the owlets.
We did get rain, snow, and high winds last night and most of the day. We got rain in the valley, but the Sandias and foothills got snow with really high winds.
The afternoon light from the sun peeking through the clouds was intense on the cottonwoods.
