A bright, windy day. The breeze is intense, driving the Windchill ever lower. While the light is enticing the cold is not. Yesterday was a day of darkness and rain. Night came early as did dawn this morning. I was reminded that for a time after the solstice dawn continues to come later, even as evenings lengthen. That has been very evident this week.
Sunday we awoke to several inches of snow so went for a drive. We discovered a large flock of mixed ducks on the tidal river. As we watched, an immense great blue heron flew in and landed not far from the van. I figure it may be one of the pair we saw this summer, as great blues are known to overwinter here. We tried to take photos but I had the wrong camera for the task….
A bit further on we had the amazing luck to have an eagle fly parallel to us for a couple of hundred yards as we drove by the marshes near gooseberry Island. Earlier we had noticed a raptor eating in the osprey nest at the beach! At first we thought it was an osprey but was too small so perhaps it was a Merlin.
We have not seen any deer or turkeys lately but hunting season ends tomorrow so that may change. There have been a goodly number of songbirds at the feeder and they can empty it in an incredibly short time.
Sunday was Holy Innocents Day, commemorating Herod’s edict that all Jewish boys under two years of age should be killed, and from which Mary and Joseph fled. It was an act of genocide in the service of Herod retaining power. These days it has way too much resonance. I guess Herod is an archetype that is continually reborn.
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