Saturday, April 5, 2014

April showers...

March has come and gone with its traditional in-like-a-lion, out-like-a-lamb characteristic. But that doesn't mean we've been terribly mild! We've had rain on and off, sometimes gentle, sometimes furious.

Here a squall hits the distant mountains.


Probably snow, at that elevation.



We've had an osprey hanging around for the last couple of weeks. We're a few miles from the lake so I don't know why he's here (since they normally eat fish), but he's a handsome bird nonetheless.





Earlier this week we had a lot of virga.




A mist cap on the butte. It was in this shape for about thirty seconds only. Sure pays to keep my camera in my pocket during morning chores!


Incoming squall this afternoon. The contrast of sun against cloud was impressive. This is facing west.






This is facing north.


The calves were piled under the barn awning like puppies...


...which was a good thing, since the squall brought hail.


Soon everyone moved under the awning. The hail and rain didn't last long, however, before it was swept away.


The day ended with a bright (though not particularly colorful) sunset.



13 comments:

  1. Ohh! Keep an eye on any dead trees you have, the kind that sticks dead branches up above the surroundings (or is surrounded by a bit of a clearing), Osprey like to nest on the tops of those. Depending on how accurate your "couple miles from fish" estimate is, a mile or so isn't THAT far for them to fly with dinner.

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  2. Maybe Mr. Osprey is planning to use your pond! Maybe there is something in it that you don't know about yet!!

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  3. what kind of camera do you use? Shadowfax

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    1. It's a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS 19 with a 20x zoom. Very nice little thing.

      - Patrice

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  4. Around here, I like to say March comes in like a lamb -- white and fluffy -- and out like a lion -- brown and mangy. Plus the roaring wind storms this year didn't actually really get going until April.

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  5. Ospreys are beautiful birds to me. We have them all over the rivers I fish here in eastern NC. It never occurred to me that they might live around lakes as well. I've always associated them with the ocean and coastal rivers, although it makes perfect sense that they would live around any body of water holding fish. It is fascinating to watch them fish!

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  6. Opreys are very precious in Scotland - we have very few of them, and there is always an anxious wait to see what breeding pairs there are going to be.
    Love your dramatic clouds.
    Have you any view on a new book just out - 'The Knowledge: how to rebuild out world from scratch'? I know that there's no substitute for learning from experience, but we're going to be moving to a more rural setting and I'm keen to read ahead for what we can do once we're out of the city.

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  7. I love that picture of your calves all snuggled together.

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  8. What beautiful photos of the clouds and sun, but my favorite is the Osprey taking off from the line. What an awesome photo.

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  9. Ms. Patrice, - the bird of prey in your yard is a northern rough-legged hawk, not an osprey. The light color phase of this western buteo does share some similar markings with the much larger osprey. They winter in the lower 48 and then head back up to Canada and Alaska where they spend the arctic summer feeding on voles and lemmings. That's what he's looking for in your pasture. Love your blog; keep up the good work!
    -W3 Former Fish and Feathers Bio...

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    1. Excellent! Thank you for the correction! We have LOTS of voles around here, and I observed the hawk diving for something (presumably voles, but most assuredly NOT fish) so that makes sense.

      - Patrice

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  10. I love the osprey photo -- amazing!! AND that you are familiar with the term "virga"! I grew up in the southeast, where there is no such thing, and I still remember the day I was introduced to the phenomenon (and the word!). Now we observe this frequently, but I am still awestruck.

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  11. You live in heaven! Those pictures are all beautiful. As a fellow Idahoan I can say yes, we have a beautiful state. I'm not so rural, but sure wish I was.

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