An amazing sight last Tuesday
afternoon. A magnificent bald eagle landed in the
street that runs beside our building and pecked at the demolished body of a
run-over rabbit while crows, who had been holding their own feast, objected
loudly. One crow dared to land behind
the eagle while others cawed from nearby trees, but the eagle turned to give him a
hard look, and he decided the better part of valor would be to join his friends in the trees. Then the eagle
scooped up the last large fragment of red flesh and leaped into the air, to
disappear over tree- and housetops. It
was a glimpse of, like they say, nature red in tooth and claw. Well, beak and talon.
Technically, it is too early
to plant. Here in this part of Minnesota, the informal
rule is, wait until Mother’s Day. But
the temperatures have been so mild, I couldn’t wait, and put up my plant pole
and transplanted the azalea I got from church into a bigger pot. This is the third year for the pole, and I
like it more than ever. I bought it at
our State Fair and it’s an easy way to get a lot of plants in a small space,
stacking the tilted pots up it. Last
year I had a geranium that was so healthy in the fall that I kept it over the
winter in our apartment. It started
blooming in February and I was glad to get it outdoors last weekend. It’s the variety that droops over the edge of
the pot – which it didn’t do last year, but does this year.
And here’s a picture of Java
the Bombay cat,
showing off her exotic profile.
Last night we were introduced
to the applications of candidates to be my church’s next rector. They seem different from one another but very
qualified and it’s going to be a hard choice.
And I’m still thinking this search would be the basis of a good mystery
story.
5 comments:
Your bird-watching sounds amazing! In addition to our recent murders of crows on various days, we've also watched arguments between crows and mockingbirds. Fun!
I didn't know crows and mockingbirds were enemies! I wonder why. Crows have long been at war with owls, but that could be because they eat one another's young. But mockingbirds - ? When I was at the Naval Training Station Bainbridge, MD, there was a mockingbird that would stand on the ball atop a short flagpole on the headquarters building, singing his heart out, then lifting his wings so the breeze would take him into the air where he'd do a backflip, landing back on the ball, not missing a note.
That mockingbird sounds cute! The mockingbirds around here attack everything in the spring when they're nesting. I even started accompanying my dogs into the backyard a few years ago because they were being buzz-bombed.
I have had similar experiences with mockingbirds. I had to guard our cat in the yard because the mockingbirds would dive bomb and poke him. I have seen them going after crows, too. And then the crows go after the hawks.
Awww, the tweet widdle animals! Or is it more like the war of all against all - especially at nesting time?
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