The Mysteries Continue...

You know....I don't want to belabor the demise of my owl, but I keep thinking that at the same time as MM found the owl, there was a pile of feathers just outside the garage.  I feel sure they aren't owl feathers.  OTOH, I feel sure they are somehow connected to the owl's demise.  They look more like English sparrow feathers.....So I keep thinking that perhaps the owl was in the midst of downing the sparrow and somehow got tangled up...it's so tantalizing to speculate on what happens as nature does what nature does, at all hours, 24/7.  Things must eat.  Things must die.  And we are mostly oblivious to the process.

The pond is frozen over completely, now.     Copper beeches offer the sounds of gentle percussive brushes, responding to the slightest kiss of the wind, shurring softly, nudging one another into song.  I love the beech tree!  In spring the leaves are chartreuse.  In fall, their muted colors linger amidst more colorful species, as they offer beechnuts to squirrels and birds; but winter is when they really shine!  Indeed they are copper-colored, and winter has long since fled when I notice the leaves are no longer on the limbs.  They seem to take only a short rest before opening their brilliant green leaves in the spring.

And the frogs and tadpoles and minnows are buried deep beneath the ice, awaiting the thaw.  If one were to put a microphone beneath the surface of the ice, the "conversations" of the creatures living there could be heard.  Yes, that's right!  Scientists are discovering that many animals we have considered "mute" instead have languages beyond our capacity to hear without electronic assistance.  All manner of insects and small animals carry on exchanges of information, even between species.  I gleaned this little tidbit from a program on elephants the other night and found it amazing!  Still another dimension to be explored!