Great Gray Owl

Are you in love with owls?  I never had been. Not until I went hunting north of the arctic circle, meeting up with my husband and hunting party did I find my love of such wonderful amazing creatures.  My mother came up to babysit the youngsters back in September 2008 or I wouldn't have been able to go at all.

After a day of scouting through swamps and hillsides for a giant moose, my husband and I came tracking through a burnout area.  As we made a turn in the trail, directly in front of us perched on the only branch of a blackened tree was the largest and my most fierce owl I had ever seen in my life.  In fact, I had never seen an owl THIS close ever. The branch was just 6 feet off the ground and just about 20 feet in front of us. The owls hypnotizing eyes were a piercing lime green.  We just stood there and stared in awe.  I had left my camera at camp another half mile away but tried as hard as I could to etch the beauty of the owl in my mind.  The owl, so close so we could see every detail, had amazingly perfect feathers, not one out of place and ruffed out to make himself appear as large as possible, with so many fascinating shades of gray.  It looked to be the size of a healthy toddler, I mean one of my toddlers, a kid way too big for his age.  He seemed to say to me, "This is MY tree, MY trail, My woodland, and I am guardian." When the spell was broken we quietly left, one step at a time, slowly.  I fell in love with owls that day.

Here is something neat I found on another blog.  It is a calendar of owls by many different artists.  Just select 12 of your favorite owls and then download. It creates a pdf calendar to print.  Click the picture below to make an owl calendar, the kids will love this!!

August Post

Where did August go? August is the time that the garden harvest comes in and all Summer activities cease. August is time to ready for hunting season, make room for visitors, and get the kids off to school.

My plans didn't go as expected at all. First of all, only one summer class finished on time. Finishing THAT class took away an entire week of my life in the hottest nicest weather we have had all year. Add to it over 20 squash and zuchini's ripening everyday from my garden. I am like my grandmother, I can't let anything go to waste.

After the class was over and I put off my English class for a few weeks I began to give away squash and find canning recipes. Then I got called in to work for a week and go to court for a son that ended up in jail. I have a crazy life. Wearing my pedometer, I learned that every day that I went to work I walked over 16 miles with over half of that pushing heavy equipment.

Another week goes by and I can't remember if I still have kids and who is diapering them while I can/pickle/preserve 54 jars of three types of zuchini/squash relish and ferment 3 gallons of vegetable sauerkraut. The freezer fills as the days roll by and my special hunt for cow moose begins.

My husband feels that it is his honorable duty to scout and guide me to the perfect cow moose everyday after work for hours and hours AND on the weekends til I just want to cry. I day or two here and there is fine, but EVERY DAY!! I yearn to pick all the lowbush berries that we pass on our tromps through the woods while I look alert and aware of any movements with floppy ears. I point out signs in the wet tundra of split hoof prints. I also fill my water bottle with the ripened cranberries to take home for a chocolate zuchini cranberry loaf.

Company comes just as the frost arrives. Thanks goodness my squash were nipped first because I can't eat any more yellow squash and eggs on tortillas for breakfast! My garden is nearly finished except for the potatoes and cauliflower. I still have pumpkins that I baby every single day, I cover them up at night and uncover and water them in the day. I go outside before bedtime and just look at them, willing them to live and grow for a few more days while my cucumbers and tomatos grow in the warmth of the greenhouse.

Two nights ago I completed my first kill; moose season is over for me, harvest is near complete, one class is over, my pay check is in the mail,the kids have transitioned into school, the hunters are fed, the freezer and pantry is full...where did August go?

If I could just finish English by the time this extension is up I would be able to relax for a second....and then start all over again!