*sniffle* The birdies are out of the nest...

empty nest

PS. The big blob in the foreground is not a failed fledgling; it's a spider's web.

We've had a pair of swans at the river here since fall. A few weeks ago I was walking and a woman whom I'd never seen before slowed her car and asked if I'd seen them. She was concerned that lately only one had been seen at a time. I hadn't seen either of them for a while. We both hoped they were nesting. Her parting words were, well, keep a look out for them.

I pondered that she entrusted the swan watch to me, even though I'd probably never see her again. However, I did see the two swans about a week later. This weekend we were walking and I saw the same woman on the river bank with a birdwatching telescope thing. So I was able to report that the pair had been sighted. And got to look at a bald eagle through her telescope.

Today it was in the low 80s. A week ago, this was the view outside my study window. It was our one and only snow storm of the season. I know that you who suffer through days and weeks and months of this wouldn't miss it, but I wish it hadn't gone away quite so fast.



( quince blossoms in the snow )

This animal, an arctic fox, is so beautiful, it looks magical. It also looks intelligent.

Are beauty and intelligence inseparable?



pic by Denis-Carl Robidaux

PS to anachred  and anyone else who's interested: this pic reminds me of Japanese folk stories that revolve around sinister though not necessarily evil foxes. Neil Gaimon wrote his own Japanese fox-story called Sandman: The Dream Hunters, illustrated by one of my favorites Yoshitaka Amano.

We saw a great big opossum in our yard the other morning, hoovering up some oyster crackers that I'd thrown out there. Enlarge him to cow size, put a saddle over his shoulders, and he'd be a great steed for your fantasy characters!


Tempting eh? Especially if your crit group has dinged you for unrealistic horse details. I mean, little, tiny, minor details!

Still, I can't see my hot male protag riding a possum, so I guess I'd better stick with horses.

pic