Ancient Tools - II
the tool on the right, found by me, I believe is a grinding surface for nuts and grain, but the semi-groved outer edges look as if it were designed to be attached to a handle of some sort
Ancient Tools - found by my parents along the shores of either the Elk River or the Northeast River
they also represent three entirely different levels of achievement in shaping stone for use in the world around them
As The Twig Is Bent
“As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” was originated in 1734 by Alexander Pope
Red Kayak - Green Shores
When slicing time
the town almost returns
to the ancient shores
as yoga thought
dims the sounds of now
Himself
An Olive Fire - Robert Service
An Olive Fire
An olive fire's a lovely thing;
Somehow it makes me think of Spring
As in my grate it over-spills
With dancing flames like daffodils.
They flirt and frolic, twist and twine,
The brassy fire-irons wink and shine. . . .
Leap gold, you flamelets! Laugh and sing:
An olive fire's a lovely thing.
An olive fire's a household shrine:
A crusty loaf, a jug of wine,
An apple and a chunk of cheese -
Oh I could be content with these.
But if my curse of oil is there,
To fry a fresh-caught fish, I swear
I do not envy any king,
As sitting by my hearth I sing:
An olive fire's a lovely thing.
When old and worn, of life I tire,
I'll sit before an olive fire,
And watch the feather ash like snow
As softly as a rose heart glow;
The tawny roots will loose their hoard
Of sunbeams centuries have stored,
And flames like yellow chicken's cheep,
Till in my heart Peace is so deep:
With hands prayer-clasped I sleep . . . and sleep.
Somehow it makes me think of Spring
As in my grate it over-spills
With dancing flames like daffodils.
They flirt and frolic, twist and twine,
The brassy fire-irons wink and shine. . . .
Leap gold, you flamelets! Laugh and sing:
An olive fire's a lovely thing.
An olive fire's a household shrine:
A crusty loaf, a jug of wine,
An apple and a chunk of cheese -
Oh I could be content with these.
But if my curse of oil is there,
To fry a fresh-caught fish, I swear
I do not envy any king,
As sitting by my hearth I sing:
An olive fire's a lovely thing.
When old and worn, of life I tire,
I'll sit before an olive fire,
And watch the feather ash like snow
As softly as a rose heart glow;
The tawny roots will loose their hoard
Of sunbeams centuries have stored,
And flames like yellow chicken's cheep,
Till in my heart Peace is so deep:
With hands prayer-clasped I sleep . . . and sleep.
I like a lot of modern poetry 'save for it's name - to me unrhymed words are prose so call it proemtry or some other word of choice - but those rules like rhyming and meter that set the bar to give a meaning to emotion of thought call forth skills that elude the finest thoughts of the unrhymed verse - so perhaps old and worn I tire
Rainy Day Barred Owl - setting out the dull light of this rainy day
tucked into this middle-aged holly tree waiting out the rain
Paired Eagles
This photograph was taken from 'Old Route 7' as I was preparing to walk along the river bank to get a closer look to see if the nest had any 'chick's. After this photograph was uploaded to my computer I was able to see what seems to be a single chicks head near the right side of the nest.
The Gathering of the Clan - there are a lot of surface disturbances in the calm water (just showing above - at the bottom in the photo but above in terms of river flow - the roiling water going over remnants of the old mill dam) which I believe are new spawns of minnows, to gather in the foraging wild life
couple of years ago but still impresses me
oh my gosh - on looking at the enlarged photo after posting same it looks as if Mr. Raptor is wearing a warm over-coat -
Barred Owl, Strix varia - II
I had spotted the owl whose photo I posted yesterday and was so intent on getting his photograph before he flew away that I missed this other owl (mate??) that was much closer but somewhat hidden by foliage, and when walking slowly forward but toward the side (hoping the motion somewhat away from directly toward the first bird would not seem threatening) I did spook this lovely large guy which flew a little deeper into the wood then landed facing me. I used the 24x zoom to get the photograph, then cropped it to the present size which explains the lack of good detail - but I still like this amazing Barred Owl.
Barred Owl, Strix varia - I feel certain that I have posted photographs of this owl before misidentified as a Barn owl
yes - I just checked it out and it was both on 18 March and 19 March - sorry about that but I flub up every now and again on things like that but I try to get them rectified when I know about it - in this case it was just my mind thinking about my posts as I looked through one of my bird books and came across the owl section.
Plain Titmouse, Parus inornatus ???
The 'Plain' Titmouse supposedly ranges in the southwest of the United States but this guy has no real shadings of colour and is also decidedly - half inch to an inch - smaller than the eastern 'Tuffed' Titmouse so I will make my call for the 'Plain' Jane species
Osprey, Pandion haliaetus
I could possibly be wrong as Osprey generally fly over water and hover when they spot fish while Eagles often roost while scanning water but neither photograph gives enough detail to make positive identification. I do know that there is an Osprey in this broad general vicinity that hovers for awhile then roosts to rest up it seems - and digitally enlarging the photograph gives no more clue than here. Relative estimated size and the previous sightings of roosting Osprey give me the impetus to call this in favor of the Osprey - if I later get more information that contradicts this I will update this post to reflect that information.
Feeding Behavior - Flies slowly over water, pausing to hover when fish spotted below;
if fish is close enough to surface, the Osprey plunges feet-first,
grasping prey in its talons.
Eggs - 3, sometimes 2-4. Creamy white, blotched with brown. Incubation is
by both parents but mostly by female, about 38 days. Young: Female
remains with young most of time at first, sheltering them from sun and
rain; male brings fish, female feeds them to young. Age of young at
first flight averages about 51-54 days. 1 brood per year.
Young - Female remains with young most of time at first, sheltering them from sun and rain; male brings fish, female feeds them to young. Age of young at first flight averages about 51-54 days. 1 brood per year.
Diet - Almost entirely fish. Typically feeds on fish 4-12" long. Type of
fish involved varies with region; concentrates on species common in each
locale, such as flounder, smelt, mullet, bullhead, sucker, gizzard
shad. Aside from fish, rarely eats small mammals, birds, or reptiles,
perhaps mainly when fish are scarce.
Nesting - Courtship displays include pair circling high together; male may fly high and then dive repeatedly in vicinity of nest site, often carrying a fish or stick. Nest site is usually on top of large tree (often with dead or broken top) not far from water. Also nests on utility poles, duck blinds, other structures, including poles put up for them. May nest on ground on small islands, or on cliffs or giant cactus in western Mexico. Site typically very open to sky. Nest (built by both sexes) is bulky pile of sticks, lined with smaller materials. Birds may use same nest for years, adding material each year, so that nest becomes huge.
http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/osprey
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