A good omen

I have a sister who considers herself "fey" in the sense that she is aware of beings on the other side of the veil. She will chide them when she is looking for a lost object. After scolding them for their unwanted playfulness, she will often find the object she is looking for right beneath her hand.

I do not judge. I have always been an insensitive clod. Maybe they try to talk to me and I am too thick to hear them. Frankly, one of my superpowers as a parent was selective loss-of-hearing. Sometimes things work much more smoothly if your hearing, as a parent, is not too good.

Canary in the coal-mine

I consider small raptors to be an excellent indicator species. They are near the top of the food chain so toxins bio-accumulate and local issues are magnified. Their range is not large enough for surrounding areas with better environmental health to mask your parcel's deficiencies.

If you have an abundance of small owls, kestrels, Accipiters, swallows, swifts and bats then you are probably doing a lot of things right. I am particularly fond of owls and bats. They are working while I am sleeping.

Today I was walking in the Eaton Rapids orchard with Zeus when I looked over and saw this girl/guy perched in a hazelnut bush.

Tentatively identified as an Eastern Screech Owl by Tireless Machias.

 

I was probably five feet away from her and it was in broad daylight. She let me pull out my phone and take a couple of pictures.

Winning the lottery could not make me any happier.