BFE Reporter Monday

BFE REPORTER MONDAY

We have lived out here in the middle of nowhere for a little over eight years. I have listened to owls hoot at all hours of the night and often during the day. I have crept around in the woods trying to sneak up on one. Never came close to getting a picture. One big handsome (well if an owl can be) owl had a habit of sitting on a fence post along the road at the bottom of the hill. If you drove by without slowing down he would sit there. If you slowed down or stopped to get a picture he was gone.

Mike says carry your camera. Today I got ready to leave the house just to walk around the acreage. I was off the porch when I realized my camera was still in the house. I had that mental battle we all have when we forget something. Go get it, or leave it. I went back. About 150 yards from the house I saw a large bird swoop down out of a tree and land in another tree down the hill. I wasn't sure what he was so I fished my camera out of my coat pocket. (Mike, that is the garment you wear over your shirt when you live somewhere cold) As I raised my camera to take a picture he flew off again. This time over to the fence line. He landed in a tree and blended in so well with the trunk I had trouble seeing him. I moved over a few feet and apparently since he was about 150 feet away he felt safe. I took six pictures. The two below are the first and the last. He never looked away from me. Mike, thank you for your ongoing encouragement to ALWAYS carry my camera. So your push and eight frustrating years later I finally got the pictures.

BFE Reader Jeff Sutor

ADDENDUM: This is a barred owl. Of all the owls this is one of the coolest looking in my opinion. If you must have one stalking you or even calling your name, this is one to consider.

Picture of a barred owl from the internet.

Comments

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless. Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001. It was one of those things that can generate crime: two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job. Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things. Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold. But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find. His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead. He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds. He will be paralyzed for life. None of this is pleasant. Reading the f...

Florida Air Museum - Part 3

Welcome back to a pretty neat tour of the Florida Air Museum in Lakeland Florida. There's a lot to see and a couple of the old Geezer Gold Wing guys are already sitting down instead of walking around looking at the exhibits. That's John who is wore out and making a call to his wife. In all honesty, John was pretty well bushed before the ride. He told me his daughter's family was down from one of the Carolina's with the grand kids and he must have played with them too much. He's about to take off on his own and head for home, but he's going to miss a couple of neat things out on Hangar A. But, before we walk over there, we have lots yet to see here. If you saw The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio playing Howard Hughes, you'll remember that he went up in a plane during the filming of one of his movies to prove a point about flying. He crashed trying to execute a roll and this is a picture of the plane he crashed. No...

The Mary Davis Home - Part 2

None of these pictures were taken by me, they came right from the MDH website. I am posting these so that friends who have never seen inside where I worked can gain access. After 27 years I have many stories, tales and acquaintances. But, I wouldn't know how to express them appropriately in a few paragraphs. I enjoyed 98% of my stay there and hope I made a difference in the lives of a fraction of the kids who entered. The original MDH at this site was just the front part. The large red-roofed area in back was added on in the 90's. This is the Jerry Carlton library. It was unofficially named after one of the counselors who truly loved the place. He passed away around 2002, I think. Mr. Farber looks like he is explaining a few things to a client. The classroom. Activity area with the gym behind the windows. Another shot of the classroom. It was a little different area to teach since we had 2 classes and 2 teachers i...

Existing In BFE

Search This Blog