Scruffy

Coopers_hawk_bw_1

On Saturday at mid-morning we spotted this Coopers hawk tidying up a bit on a broken old Cottonwood branch. He looked like he has had a bit of a rough time lately with his feathers looking downright scruffy. After a half hour or so of preening his feathers were back in fine order and he was off again hunting in nearby woods.

Short day-Long Shadows

There’s no escaping and no mistaking this time of year. Early December, high noon, without a cloud in the sky, yet the sun casts long shadows upon a male Red-winged Blackbird with wing-bar colors faded to only a pale yellow. Short days and long shadows. A calendar and perhaps a metaphor.