Wildlife

The fight in flight!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

I miss you so much.

Just passing through!

Found a watering hole!

The Great Horned Owl

you may click on the picture to get a larger view

The great horned owl, sometimes called the "cat owl" or "hoot owl," is one of the most widespread and commonly recognized owls. It is large and bulky, reaching a length of 18-25 inches with a wingspan of 3-5 feet. The female is larger than the male.

The great horned owl ranges in color from the usual brown to light gray and is heavily barred crosswise, with a white throat patch and distinct ear tufts or "horns." In flight, the great horned owl is as large as our largest hawks, except it appears reckless and large-headed.
The great horned owl is found throughout North and South America, inhabiting everything from dense forest to open desert and even urban areas. It is a permanent resident throughout much of its breeding range.
The great horned owl usually nests in trees, using the abandoned nest of a hawk, eagle, crow, heron, or occasionally a squirrel, but will also nest in caves, hollow trees, and even on the ground. After the young leave the nest, adults feed them on the ground before they are able to fly and may fiercely defend them against possible threats.
In North Dakota, great horned owls initiate nests as early as February. Birds are easy to locate because nests are large and quite often in small groups of mature trees or tree rows. Nests are visable without leaves to hide them. The owl's head generally extends above the edge of the nest, and the ear tufts are visable.
The great horned owl is primarily nocturnal, but will hunt during the day when food is scarce. It is one of the largest and most powerful owls and will take prey as large as skunks, apparently being indifferent to the odor, and will even attack porcupines. Primary foods include ground squirrels, rabbits, ducks and voles. This owl can sometimes be seen in daylight being pursued, or "mobbed," by strings of noisy birds.

The Sprayer.... 2011

http://youtu.be/Vrp5ThGlbC4

It was a wet spring and summer, also the first time in my life we couldn't get a crop in.  This is a video I put together from day 1 to day 18 of trying to get Duane's sprayer out of the mud.

Happy Birthday Mom, and Happy Mothers Day!

MOTHER'S ARE THE SWEETEST.

Our mother is the sweetest and
Most delicate of all.
She knows more of paradise
Than angels can recall.

She's not only beautiful
But passionately young,
Playful as a kid, yet wise
As one who has lived long.

Her love is like the rush of life,
A bubbling, laughing spring
That runs through all like liquid light
And makes the mountains sing.

And makes the meadows turn to flower
And trees to choicest fruit.
She is at once the field and bower
In which our hearts take root.

She is at once the sea and shore,
Our freedom and our past.
With her we launch our daring ships
Yet keep the things that last.

~Nick Gordon~