26 January, 2020            No prescription necessary 

I began this week anxious but my anxiety vanished in an instant when I focused on this beauty at Pony Pasture: 

If you’re anxious and look at this deer, you’ll stop being anxious. Trust me on this one.

Being out there in the woods looking at those calm eyes eliminates anxiety and I didn’t even have to see a doctor! Pony Pasture is infinitely nicer than the nicest drugstore anywhere. The only side effect is sometimes I track mud into the house when I get home.

Since I first saw an owl in late November I’ve opened the blog post with owl pictures. Because it’s a gift every time I see one. I saw them again this week for the ninth week in a row, and it’s still a gift – they are so wild. Starlings are wild too – I’m looking at some this minute on my bird feeder – but for some reason it doesn’t feel like a privilege to see them. I unexpectedly made three visits to the river this week instead of my usual one; I saw the owls every single time. This one was from yesterday: 

Amazing that a pair of owls can be this predictable. Amazing and gratifying.

All those river hikes must have worn me out. Ev took this picture Tuesday evening: 

Photo by Evelyn. Sometimes I need to just rest my eyes for a few minutes. Dash too.

Speaking of our animals. We took Mackey and Turner to Bows & Bones Pet Grooming in Bon Air this week. Bows and Bones is an excellent operation and Mackey and Turner are real laid back about going there. They come home so clean and shiny and happy – we’re  impressed every time. 

When I went to pick them up, the groomer said Turner was trying to comfort Mackey so he jumped up on the table to help Mackey stay calm: 

Turner pretending to help Mackey – he’s really helping himself

What the groomer didn’t know was Turner was trying to comfort Turner. Mackey is a wise, peaceful soul; Turner watches his every move. They are good, good, good old pals. 

Some may recall last week (or you can scroll down) I posted an indistinct picture of two fog bound Red-tails perched on a powerline. I got a similar picture this week, just a single male. I’ll post it here then never (probably) post one this awful again. But I figured it out. Red-tails soar to hunt. So probably in good weather they’re directly above that powerline, but they’re probably a few thousand feet up and I never see them. But in fog that doesn’t work. Ask any pilot! You can land with instruments, but not with your eyes. Not having instruments, raptors are fog bound and have to stay near the ground: 

Red-tailed hawk on a power line – clouds are too low for soaring

I was hiking with a buddy this week at Deep Run and we saw a bluebird flitting around on the forest floor. Everything wild knows daylight has increased by thirty-five minutes and is getting longer every day. No babies yet, probably not even any eggs, but they all know warm weather is on its way and they’re going to be ready: 

Bluebird – picture taken exactly 2 hours after the hawk picture. Amazing.

Have a great week! Come back next week! 

All best, 

Jay 

PS I almost forgot – how could I!? The Yukon Quest begins Saturday (February 1, 2020) at 11:00 AM EST. The first team will cross the finish line about eight days later – seven if they’re really, really fast. I departed Richmond on February 2, 2006 (fourteen years ago! What?!) to volunteer at the YQ that year. There are currently fifteen teams registered for this year’s race. No Lance Mackey and no Frank Turner though, the sled dog racing legends my dogs are named after. Tune in! Check it out!