December 17 and 18, plus snowy owl

[asakiyume]

A snowstorm is expected today, so yesterday I only felt like doing something kind of perfunctory, so I did these very standard Christmas bells.



But then this morning I woke up and ... no snow. No snow expected until after noon. Well, I couldn't do *two* perfunctory pictures, so I did one I'd been saving up: a blue jay.



And here, unrelated to the Advent calendar, is a sweet photo from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, a local paper: a snowy owl ^_^ What an armful!

Comments

[cmcmck]

Gorgeous owl!

[asakiyume]

Isn't it just!

[osprey_archer]

The bells are so festive! I love the jaunty ribbon and the yellow patterns on the red bells.

The blue jay looks so cheerful, too. There's something ineluctably Christmassy about birds, isn't there?

[asakiyume]

Yes, I think so, re: birds and Christmas! They're so joyful seeming in a dark season.

[lilysea]

Snowy owl! ^_^

[asakiyume]

It looks cat sized! I want to cuddle it (though I'm sure it would hate that, so I wouldn't do it...)

[lilysea]

Especially since I've heard that owls are basically flying knives...

to quote seananmcguire on twitter:

"Owl is NOT ONE OF THOSE THINGS. Owl is blaming me for all of its woes. OWL IS MADE OF KNIVES."

"I love many birds, but my favorite is the barn owl. It's basically a somewhat dim flying pillow filled with knives that has figured out how to best exploit the human race."

[asakiyume]

Hahaha, I love that description of a barn owl.

[sonia]

That owl looks like it's had a hard day and is contented to be resting in the rescuer's arms. Which is not something I would have imagined owls would do! Now I want a story about a cuddly owl!

Ring, bells! The jay looks like it's going to defend its peanut against all comers!

[asakiyume]

Right? Me too.

Actually, I recall that even my own kids became somewhat more cuddly (in the sense of, they'd submit to hugs and not go running around) when they were under the weather!

The squirrels, titmice, and bluejays all want the peanuts!

[sovay]

Well, I couldn't do *two* perfunctory pictures, so I did one I'd been saving up: a blue jay.

That's a very good jay!

Nice owl, too.

[asakiyume]

Thank you! I was happy with the blue jay.

And owls were a thing I thought of drawing, but I probably won't, in the end. I love this little bundle of owl. I hope s/he (probably she, according to sample photos at Cornell Lab of Ornithology) gets better soon.

[mallorys_camera]

That is one dignified-looking owl.

[asakiyume]

Even in injury! what a hero.

[pameladean]

The bells are very festive, though! And the blue jay is just great. They have been yelling over my yard for the past few days. I should get it together and get them some dehydrated caterpillars.

The owl is beautiful, but the first thing I saw when I glanced at that image was the BARE HAND of the person holding it. I mean, probably the people who rescued it don't regularly handle owls, but it must be either quite hurt or very mellow.

P.

[asakiyume]

Yeah, like lilysea said, Owls are pretty much made of knives, so!

... I hope they're able to heal her. A FB acquaintance rescued an injured eagle earlier in the year, but it didn't make it. I hope this owl makes it.

[pameladean]

Oh, that's so heartbreaking. Of course it's part of rescuing animals, or anybody else: not every one makes it. I hope the owl does too.

P.

[sartorias]

Lovely jay!

[asakiyume]

Thank you! Jays are such cocky birds ^_^

[anna_wing]

The bells are gorgeous, I love the colours.

I attended one of those Falconry Experience days once at the local zoo, with various raptors, from an African Secretary Bird (having one on my arm was definitely An Experience) to a Black Vulture, and the keepers/falconers told me that owls are actually the least intelligent of all the raptors they work with, because all they do is sit there and wait for a mouse to come along, and then eat it (something along those lines, anyway). The most intelligent by far are apparently vultures, but obviously that's not much use to anyone trying to actively hunt using them...

[asakiyume]

That sounds like a great experience! There's a falconer in this area who will do an introduction to hawks for you, and two of my kids did it--it was great. (Only one kind of hawk, though.)

I'm laughing at the thought of having a vulture as your hunter.

Vulture: Here's some prime carrion, boss.

Boss: Eww, carrion.

Vulture: *very dejected*

[gale_storm]

Love the blue jay!! And yay for the owl — lucky it won’t be waiting for adoption, along with others of its species!! Hee!!

[asakiyume]

I think wildlife rehabilitators always try to return them to the wild!

[gale_storm]

Heh heh!! Of course they do. I was just being a bit sarcastic!! Little owl sitting at an animmal adoption place wouldn’t go at all well, for the owl or little puppies or kittens it caught and ate!! (More sarcasm, really!!)

[asakiyume]

Hahaha, strong agree--not a good idea to mix the predator with the prey!

[amaebi]

Your bells do not look perfunctory.

Love owl.

Want snow.

[asakiyume]

Our snow ended up mainly--almost entirely--rain here too. Which means the driveway is clear for a drawing today ;-)

Thanks re: bells--I guess in the end I like them, too; I think part of what made me feel that way was the it's kind of a standard image. But that's okay, right? I think it's good to have a mix of standard and novel.

I love the owl too

[amaebi]

Rain. *sigh* It's so wet. So full of water. *sigh*

[zdenka]

All your Advent calendar pictures have been so beautiful and fun! That's a great bluejay.

What a beautiful owl! I hope it recovers well.

[asakiyume]

Thank you very much ^_^ Me too re: owl. It's got a lot of us rooting for it.

[queenoftheskies]

Your Advent calendar is so beautiful.

[asakiyume]

Glad you're enjoying it ^_^

[khiemtran]

These are so wonderful!

[asakiyume]

Thank you! So glad you like them.

[athenais]

I long to see a snowy owl in the wild. I live in the wrong place for that, though.

[asakiyume]

According to the Cornell ornithology website, my area is about as far south as they come, and only in winters. Theoretically I could see one in the flesh, but I think this photo is as close as I'll ever get. Maybe next time you take a winter trip to Sweden or Iceland ;-)

I liked this language from the Cornell Ornithology website--especially the part about "airport lands." Makes them seem like their own country.

In winter, look for Snowy Owls along shorelines of lakes and the ocean, as well as on agricultural fields and airport lands. Snowy Owls breed in the treeless arctic tundra.