Black Hill Cafe

- breakfast at Black Hill Cafe this morning  - Toasted whole wheat bread sandwiches with dab of butter, baby spinach, large slice sweet white onion, olive oil mayonnaise, and spicy red pepper hummus backed up with numerous cups of strong black English Breakfast tea 

Cloud

May 2013    © smck

Osprey With Fish - II

08 May 2013    ©smck

08 May 2013    ©smck

08 May 2013    ©smck

Note: In this 3rd, computer enlarged, photo you can see the large talons on its right foot grasping the tree.

Osprey

(Pandion haliaetus)

Ospreys (Pandionidae)

The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds Eastern Region © 1977

A large, long winged, “fish hawk” 

Body 21-24 inches (53-61 cm) long,  wings 54 – 72 inches (1.4-1.8 m)

Range; Breeds from Alaska to Newfoundland south to the Gulf Coast to Florida.  Winters Gulf Coast and California south to Argentina.  Also breeds in Eurasia, North Africa, East Indies, and Australia.  The habitat is sea coast, lakes, rivers and other bodies of water with food.  Nests are a mass of sticks and debris in trees, telephone poles, etc. and even on flat ground or rocks.  The Osprey’s entire diet is fish for which it is well equipped with sharp spiny projections on its feet.  The Osprey hovers over water till it sees a fish near the surface, at which point he plunges in feet first to grasp the fish with his talons.

Osprey With Fish

08 May 2013     © smck

Luckily I usually have my camera in the truck with me.  Coming over the first real hill from the town of North East I spotted this guy, fish in claw, flying with steady beat of his wings toward  a section of wood that I had already suspected was the vicinity of their nest.  Quickly I pulled to the shoulder of the road, then when traffic was clear I did a U-turn and drove about 1/4 mile (a little less than 0.5 kilometer) back to near the hill top, then again pulled to the shoulder and stopped opposite where I saw him perched waiting to get his photo taken.

Invasive Beauty

07 May 2013    © smck

Several decades ago I saw my neighbor's Wisteria blooming in incredible display in the spring.  So I gathered a few seed pods from his yard at the time and when I bought my old decrepit house in the country I planted about 6 to 8 seeds at the back where an old clearing had been overgrown with various scrub-type trees.  The Wisteria sprouted growing a foot or so in height the first year and then continued to stay about that size for the next three to four years.  This prompted me to transplant them to more sunny areas which triggered an astounding burst of growth.  I little realized that I had unleashed an invasive monster that has by now overwhelmed their supportive tree hosts,  breaking tops and limbs with their weight and ever lengthening vines as well as sending amazingly long ground vines in various directions which then climb any new tree with which they come in contact .  This Wisteria is incredibly beautiful  - but I find that it is an annual battle of new growths versus me trying to save the existing trees - one young nut bearing walnut tree has already been broken off at the top. 

This might be the last year for this lovely view.