Friday, March 11, 2005

Thursday evening

Well, after the previous post, as I was on my way home not too far from where I had the owl encounter, I saw a dead great gray in the middle of the road. Damn! I pulled over to pick it up, and it was still warm, freshly hit. Probably one of the owls I've been seeing every day in that area. I brought it to the wildlife office, which was on my way home anyway, and luckily someone was still there so I could put it in the freezer.

As I drove up the driveway into our clearing, I became aware of a large bird sitting in an elm tree next to the swamp. This bird was definitely not a great gray owl. I got out my binoculars, and got my best view ever of a northern goshawk. It stayed, perched in the same spot, for at least 45 minutes after I got home. What a beautiful bird.

I had a wonderful visit with our neighbors, Dick and Patty, last night. I brought Nina over there after dinner to pick up a unique object for Show and Tell: the bones of an orangutan hand! They had gotten the hand, strung together with wire, from an anthropologist friend. I only meant to stay for a few minutes, but we ended up visiting for over an hour, discussing owls, neighbors, gardens, greenhouses, and Sally the turkey. Sally is a semi-wild turkey who divides her time between our houses.

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