I've been visiting some old haunts this past week and no, I don't mean the hospital, or the market. For those of you dear readers who have been following this blog for years, and I do know there are maybe two of you, it will not surprise you that it involves owls.
An acquaintance put an alarming post on Facebook about being attacked by an owl as she was walking down the street. She lives in the neighborhood where I spent many, and I mean many, happy hours observing an owl family. Here, and here and here are but a few examples from those days. Lots of quilts in those posts too. At any rate, never have I felt threatened before, so thinking that I am some sort of owl whisperer I immediately drove over first thing in the morning after having seen said post. Fortunately, she was very specific as to where I should look. At first I struggled to figure out which tree to focus on, however it wasn't long before I saw one of the parents fly high up into a tree with breakfast.
After a bit it flew into one of the smaller trees with a flurry so even though I did not see the owlet, I felt pretty sure it was in there somewhere. I will admit to being a bit leery because I still really don't know if both parents were around. It was hard to know if the one I saw in an opposite tree differed from the one with the rat.
Before long it swooped right over me (!!!) into a tree on the opposite side of the street. Should I quit while I was ahead? Probably, but you know me, I kept watching and my patience was rewarded. Spotting one owlet at the top of the tree, I was a happy camper.
Whether or not there is a second one in there, I have no clue, although that is more the norm for owls. To put this all into perspective, can you spot the owlet in the photograph below?
At the very least I'm sure you can spot the baby car!! In the past the owls have been almost friendly, but taking no chances, I hopped back in said baby car before, I too, was attacked. Interestingly enough, they now have posted signs reminding folks that nesting owls can be very protective. Duly noted!!
In that same vein, I used to also ride my bike to Harbor Island to observe a Bald Eagle's nest. Not having checked for probably the last two years, I learned from Mary, whose daughter lives there, that indeed the nest was active. Sold! This nest is also in an insanely high spot, but with my Panasonic super zoom camera, although not tremendous, I can at least get a shot.
Although I now know there are two eaglets in the nest, because they are getting so big, only one is truly visible as the other one flanks the other side of the parent. Then too, it was on a very grey day, rendering the light not ideal, but you take what you can get.
Gosh it makes me happy!
For the longest time I've held onto a newspaper article I read about Graham Nash's photography. He, of Crosby, Nash, Stills and Young fame, says in the article something that I've always felt but never saw anyone else put into words. And I quote:
"Here's what I do: I wake up every morning. I get on with my day. If I'm leaving the house--I take my camera and I say to myself, "OK, the world is going to show me something fantastic today. What is it? Come on, show me," he says.
That's me. Every single day.
And finally I can throw the paper away because I have committed it to this space.
An example of that is, just two mornings ago, walking into our bedroom early I saw this:
The rising sun! The floorboards lit up! A hint of the fern on the shelf. I love this kind of stuff!
And although I've seen Mallard ducks nearly every day for years now, I still find something fantastic to observe about each one. Those feet!! The wet log! Obviously I look at photographs differently than others who merely see a duck. Back when I worked and people would bring in say, vacation photos, most folks would skim through them, whereas I would ask questions like crazy. What can I say but I am a curious person, a trait that I believe runs in our family.
As I sat down to write this post, actually all that I had was a title, Matt and Tom called via Facetime. For the life of me I could not EVEN REMEMBER a novel I read last week which is a sad state of affairs. Fortunately, my public library history helped me out. What difference does it really make? None really, aside from I did want to mention this one book I was reading at the lakeside pool when all of a sudden I heard an eagle's cry. The book is
Morningside Heights and I found it very moving, as well as thought provoking. Anyway, it was my good fortune that Mr. Peck was also there, spotting it for me and those who came to see it once we announced its presence. Seriously, I have seen an eagle on the property barely a handful of times.
Perhaps it would have hung around longer if it were not being harassed by other birds which is quite common. Especially Blue Jays. Should you hear a bunch of Blue Jays making a racket, it is probably because a raptor is nearby. Just so you know!
I made a dress!!I have not sewn a thing since Christmas so it was about time. Using some very fun fabric that I bought in Vancouver (!) nearly four years ago, it was super simple. Plus I got to use the cute little clips Fallon got me for Christmas. Rather than pins, these clips are all the rage in the sewing community.
I suppose that is a confusing picture isn't it? That black stuff is interfacing which is used to stiffen the neckline. Using a vintage pattern, I am pleased with the results, although I do realize that my tastes are a little unusual!
About the roadtrip...
It was not our very best. In part because we were disappointed at the campground we checked out ,and in part because we just did not see all that much. One thing that we did see, which brought me a great deal of joy, was blooming wildflowers! Phlox galore!
We took SR 50 out towards Brooksville, which we never actually visited having taken a detour off the road, a long one at that, per my uninformed suggestion, but one thing happened interesting at the meagre park. First a nice photo of the man of the house.
Secondly there were fireman there, doing something with their hoses. As I recall, Bruce said they were using water from the lake? I don't get it because they were spraying it back there, but here you have it. Something never before seen in this space.
On our way back in to Orlando, we stopped at a roadside attraction that defies description.
Boyett's Citrus Attraction, it has been welcoming tourists since the 60"s. Knowing it was going to be funky from the building murals,
we stopped nonetheless. Very creative outside; would you describe this as a totem pole?
To be fair, we only looked around inside,
which was very eclectic indeed.
I will say if you are looking for candy or gum from that era, this is your place. On another day we probably would have enjoyed the nature part, but time was getting away from us. I will say that Spring Hill Road was a very beautiful drive with hills. Yeah, imagine that in Florida!
Our twin boys turned 43 on April Fool's Day. Although we missed Michelle, who was not feeling well, the rest of the Orlando clan had a fun Mexican dinner at LaFiesta.
Sister Lisa posted a photo of her holding them both back when they were about three months old and when David saw it, he wondered who was who. The hair gave it away....Bill was always rocking the longer hair even as an infant. One thing I noticed from that photo was that Bill's face has always been a tad bit thinner because he was born first and spent longer in the birth canal. More than you want to know? I get it! That said, when I had the twins, it was grim days for me because Bruce was working two jobs to keep us afloat in the 1979 inflation days. I was pretty much on my own as my Mother lived in Melbourne, most of my sisters had just given birth as well, and Bruce's Mom lived in California. To tell you the truth, it is a wonder I survived their first year. But survive it I did and now I look back on the miracle of identical twins as something to marvel at. Today twins, not identical, but twins in general, are common due to fertility procedures, but back then they were something else!
Finally, here's a crazy thing that happened Saturday evening. It was a gloomy, rainy day, and I opened the door to put some garbage out, surprised by the sight of a turtle trying hard to get through our gate, toppling over in the process.
I don't know how all my single ladies do it. Me, I say, "Bruce!, there's a turtle out front that needs help!" Placing it in the bushes, it was soon on its way, unlike the snake he dealt with a few weeks ago. What can I say other than I would be lost in this crazy world without Bruce.
There you have it, old posts, a new post, and a host of critters!
your friend,
Gail
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