Wildlife update and hints of fall

Eagle soaring by our windows

Haven't mentioned it lately, but our owls are still with us. The three babies are growing, but still have the baby shriek, and are quite noisy at night. We have windows cracked (actually we do that even when it's below freezing) and they definitely took mommy owl's advice, and are staying put right inside our fence.  We had friends Gail and Steve over for dinner a few nights ago,(shrimp paesano - sorry everybody!), and while out on the deck after the meal, the owls decided to give us a show.

Out of this world Shrimp Paesano

A large rabbit was munching away in the yard minding its own business and the three babies decided this could be a meal. Only it was too big and barely paid attention to them until they got too close trying to dive bomb it. It ran away. Mark thinks they tried again in the middle of last night with perhaps more success. Oooh. Which begs the question, how long will it be before the owls are completely grown up, and how long will they stay? 

This

plus this - not a good combination

This brings to mind the whole nature story, and how left alone the circle of predator versus prey seems to work well, with populations kept under control. I will say its a little too close lately (saw the remnants of a kill on my woods walk this morning, probably due to the coyote family with 6 pups) and I have to accept what is a natural survival instinct. After all, man is the only creature on earth that kills for other than food and defense.And for the coyote family I speak of, there is no special "coyotes only" pick up door at the grocery store. C'est la vie.

Tiny signs of fall coming are starting. A trick of lighting, sharper rustling of the aspen leaves, a yellow leaf popping out here and there, and the hummingbirds that stuck around after our of town trip, are starting to leave. Suddenly, we're hardly filling anything. Too fast!

Lots of deer and a sighting of Flap. She's been scarce and of course alone when we do see her.She's virtually the only one who gets right up by our front door. Can't imagine how she got close enough to another deer to have produced her twins last year, if you get my drift.

Egg report - the new farm is not ready yet to roll out its CSA, but apparently the chicken move was successful. They have "settled" and are starting to lay eggs again. That was weeks ago - boy, they must be quite the sensitive creatures. I still have hopes of at some point regularly getting organic special eggs...

Our Culligan water guy came to service our equipment, and while he was here, I told him the strange, untreated well water poisoning the hanging baskets, story. He tests our water, so looked up his records, and announced the only thing he could see that would possibly have this effect were sulfites.That's the rotten egg smelling stuff to you and me. Interesting, although it changes nothing, can't use the outside untreated or the inside treated (salt), so still with the rain and spring water. It brought them back from the dead!

Back to CO Springs for a short visit this week. It's a happy thing its only 3 1/2 hrs away. I may, in fact, be going from CO Springs to Denver to pick up Mark at the airport if he is unable to make his connection back to Gunnison, as he will be traveling during that time as well. His travel arrangements have left him with 30 minutes to run from one plane to another. Odds?