Tuesday, January 10, 2012

There's a Bad Moon Arisin'

One thing I love about the Garden Spot is the wildlife. We are not exactly out in the country, more like a rural suburbia of very small town (pop. 1, 000+). Near farm fields with lots of open space, we can see fox, cotton tails, even a prairie dog ran through the yard once. The fox does not come around much; we suppose because of the dog. We do see sign of skunk and raccoon. Then there are the plethora of birds. Here is one handsome fellow I snapped yesterday. He is the main reason that our hens don't roam free.

We think it might be a Ferruginous Hawk, native to the grasslands. Its main diet consists of prairie dogs, which are plentiful just east of town. We see these large birds frequently patrolling the air space above looking for food no doubt. The little song birds at the feeders disappear from the feeders, taking refuge in the thick pines when this fellow shows up. I shot this photo from my bedroom window with the 70-300 mm telephoto lens.

Action shot: Stroke of Luck

There's A Bad Moon Arising. Any Credence Clear Water  Fans out there? Not quite a bad moon, but certainly a spectacular moon. Photo taken about 5 PM. It was large and pinkish and spectacular. I managed to get a clear shot through the trees, but couldn't avoid the electric lines. Another telephoto shot.

What do you love about your garden?

Classes at the university started yesterday. Since my classes are on Tuesday and Thursday, I will have Mondays off.  It will a very busy semester with 3 college research classes and a 4th class Writing on a Theme for education majors (future teachers). I have 2 75 minute classes back to back in the morning followed by a 75 minute break and 2 more 75 minute classes in the afternoon. A long, rigorous day for sure. 

Thank you all for the kind words on my post about Kenneth. Cousins are such special people. They become our best friends made more special because of that special bond of kinship.  

6 comments:

  1. He looks pretty majestic sitting up in that tree. Great capture of him in flight.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now I am going to have that song in my mind all day. But I like it, so that is good!
    I love the hawks that patrol our meadow. I know they do a fine job of eradicating a lot of the voles etc. But I do worry about the other birds, sometimes.
    Great photos, Ann!
    Good luck with this semester teaching.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The moon was huge last night! Great picture of the hawk.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Ann!
    Wow! That's an amazing hawk shot!
    Your teaching schedule sounds exhausting! How long will it take to get used to it?
    Mondays off will be very important to your well-being!
    It's so snowy! My garden is so buried. I usually plant sweet peas on President's weekend. We'll see this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am replying here as there is no comment box below Ann?

      Ann please forgive me i had not seen your previous post,i am so sorry for your loss and i will say a prayer for your dear cousin Kenneth may he rest in peace.

      The hawk shots are amazing,we see red kites on the way to the coast which are huge,oooh i know the song you mean Steve loves it.
      Now that door sounds fabulous we need to get your husband onto it pronto!
      Have a lovely weekend xxxx

      Delete
  5. What a great shot of that hawk. We've got hawks around here too but thankfully they keep away from the garden so the birds only have the local moggies to worry about.

    We've had some lovely moons here too this week along with lovely sunsets.

    ReplyDelete

Back in the Swing of Things

 Well, hello friends. My only post for the year was in March when I declared, "I'm Back." I really didn't go any place; I ...