Wet

photo by Genie Dibble

The owlets are wet just like everything else in upstate New York. After the wettest April on record this last week has put me hopelessly behind. Moss and slugs, that's about it. There is some particularly good rhubarb but I still don't have any fava beans sown or anything else for that matter.

Still I marvel at the green of it. Everything is so very, very green, shades of green that we only see this time of year.

On the Wing

I didn't spend much time looking for great horned owls this spring but Genie did. Once again the crows eventually lead her to a nest but the two owlets were already close to fledging. She kept me posted with photos including those above.

I wasn't able to get over to the park until yesterday and I went primarily just so Genie could show me the location of the nest since the owlets had fledged a couple of days before and the new leaves were filling in the canopy. The crows were mobbing something so I watched for awhile but couldn't see any owls. Then just as I was climbing up on my way out I turned and took a last look with my binoculars. There they were in the top of a hemlock, a clear view of both fledglings almost at my eye level.

I was especially pleased to see young owls again since the peregrine falcons in Syracuse didn't produce any young this year. It's actually been difficult to watch the female, Fancy, at the empty next box. I hope this is just an off-year for them and not the end of their tenure.

.714

As if to erase the last doubt I have about the world being upside-down, The Cleveland Indians have been in first place for over a month now and earlier this week they held the best winning percentage in the major leagues, 714!

It's been a pleasant diversion through a miserably wet spring, April being the wettest on record here. I don't like to complain when so many people have had much worse weather to deal with but we're reconstructing the beds in the fenced garden this year and the wet conditions have put us behind schedule.

But sun today and perhaps some dry weather next week.