damn one-eyed owl was mad doggin’ me all night
I think she was hoping I would slip up and use my flash so she could go all raptor on my ass. Fortunately, the presentation included several hand-to-talon combat pointers. I am ready for her now.
great horned owl
This great horned owl lost an eye and lives in rescue center with several other injured raptors. She got spooked a couple of times during the presentation and her eerily silent wings generated an amazing amount of wind.
river haint
Last night we went on a night hike down by the river. It was part of an owl presentation at the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area near us (thank you Jimmy!) It was a fun night.
roads closed due to flooding no school precipitation day
Today’s lessons focused on retention ponds and storm water management. Their great uncle is an engineer in Knoxville, so they will have a lot of detailed questions for him the next time we get together.
cross turtle crosses path
Floyd and I went on a walk in the woods today and we ran into this guy. He was not interested in yielding the right of way, retracting into his shell, or smiling for the photographer. He had apparently encountered one too many curious dogs this morning, and he wasn’t going to take any more crap off of the tourists. Good for you brother box turtle! It’s your world and we just hike through it.
the elegant stinkhorn
We had a nice walk in the woods over the weekend. We saw several types of fungi that were new to us including some unidentified earthstars and this very cool Mutinus elegans with its odorous spore-thick slime.
they smell like calendula
They grow over six feet tall and there is a meadow full of them. It always looks like they have lost most of their petals, but I think that is just the way they bloom. They smell like calendula or maybe chamomille, but they aren’t either one of those. Please to assist. What are they?
found black racer (cameraphone)
sweet smiling finn
Black Kingsnake (about 2ft long) from my birthday hike with the skull girls
