Screech owlet sighting!
May 14, 2015 My husband wins the prize for first sighting of a screech owlet in our owl box this year. He spotted a green-eyed, elfin face peeking through the hole this morning. This afternoon, I saw it too. He or she was tentative but curious, even after I stepped ...
Soggy garden blues make me happy
May 12, 2015 During the horrible drought year of 2011, I swore I’d never complain about rain again, and I’m not tempted now. My garden has had nearly 5 inches of rain since last Tuesday, washing out a gravel path twice and incubating a healthy crop of mosquitoes. And how ...
Owl’ll be watching you
April 28, 2015 After weeks of live oak litter, first leaves and then pollen catkins, and weeks of me raking, blowing, and bagging, the garden is finally visible again. Sunday evening I went outside with no expectation of doing any spring chore: no clean-up, no pruning, no planting, no mulching, ...
Birds and blooms at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
April 13, 2015 Rain was forecast all weekend, but although clouds hung low and dark, little rain actually fell. We Austinites pouted for our lakes and gardens, but garden visitors with cameras could find no reason to complain. My garden of choice, when I have several hours of free time, ...
First water lily is blooming but pond cleanup awaits
March 23, 2015 Despite a cool spring, an early-bird ‘Colorado’ water lily has already opened in the stock-tank pond, pale but undaunted. Future lilies will blush a deeper peachy pink as the days grow warmer. Before it decides to bloom in earnest, I really need to muck out a year’s ...
Two little screech owls sitting in a tree
March 17, 2015 No, they’re not k-i-s-s-i-n-g, but they do trill to each other, he (above) in his ligustrum behind the back fence… …she in the owl box, which faces away from him and toward the house. I took these pictures on Sunday afternoon, while working in the garden below ...
Hootin’ Annie the screech owl
March 13, 2015 Making dinner last night, we glanced out the kitchen window and saw our little screech owl perched in the doorway of the owl box, just chillin’. I grabbed my camera and crept out on the deck to get a few pictures. When she didn’t stir, I eased ...
Screech owl in the owl box
February 28, 2015 I can’t tell if it’s the same one I spotted in a tree last week, but yesterday evening my daughter looked out the kitchen window and spotted a screech owl in the owl box. She came running to find me, and I went running for my camera ...
The boy’s back in town! Mr. Screech Owl, that is
February 17, 2015 Guess who just got back today That wild-eyed boy that had been away Haven’t changed that much to say But man, I still think them owls are crazy With apologies to Thin Lizzy, I did feel like shouting with joy when I looked up from my yard ...
Two! Another screech owl chick at the door
May 18, 2014 All last week, we were treated to one screech owl chick at the door of the owl box. I knew another one was in there, though, and last night we finally got to see chick #2. It’s obviously not any easier for owl siblings to share than ...
Screech owlet and blanketflower meadow
May 17, 2014 One of the screech owlets — we think there are two — boldly hangs out on his front stoop each afternoon, getting an eyeful of this great big world. We keep a pair of binoculars on the kitchen table so we can watch him more closely whenever ...
Screech owlet in the house
May 13, 2014 We’d seen glimpses of two owlets in the owl box — a couple of fuzzy heads jostling when Mom or Dad swooped in with dinner — but yesterday was my first clear sighting of one of the screech owl babies. He or she perched confidently in the ...
Tecolote Hill garden happenings and a new fence
May 02, 2014 Winter’s chill finally gave way to spring, and then, suddenly, to summer. Several mid-90F days earlier this week thankfully didn’t fade ‘Etoile Violette’ clematis, growing on the lattice under the deck. But it did in the spuria iris, shown here in full bloom last week, before the ...
Great horned owls on the nest at the Wildflower Center
April 14, 2014 With family in town last weekend, smack in the middle of wildflower season, we made a visit to one of my favorite places in Austin: the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Sure, I wanted to see bluebonnets and other spring flowers, but I also knew a secret ...
Welcome back, screech owl!
March 15, 2014 A few weeks ago I noticed a regular daytime napper in a tree beyond our garden. Was it the same owl who’s just moved into our owl box? I’ve studied this grumpy face, but I just can’t be sure. I’d thought it might be a male in ...
First screech owl of the season
February 21, 2014 While planting in the back garden yesterday, I looked up into the trees above the back fence, as I always do, to see if I could spot an owl. What a surprise to see this little screech staring right back at me. He or she was probably ...
