A Visit From Great Grey Owl

Great Grey Owl

Great Grey owl has moved into our winter orchard and last night entertained us at dinner time by perching on the edge of the deck and posing for us just outside our dining room window. We first saw him weeks ago on a snowy morning, his dark shape looming in the predawn light, sitting in the cotton wood just over the bluff.
A pleasant way to start the day with the nice feeling bird watchers know that comes with special sightings. Quiet hoots added to
 the pleasure that stayed with us all through breakfast until later when the snow had stopped and the morning light had come and we moved back to the window for a better view.


Great Grey was gone. Then I watched Dan”s pleasant expression turn to something akin to utter horror. I followed his eyes to the definite tracks of a snowshoe hare dotting the newly fallen snow, moving across the garden from the east orchard to the west orchard. Dan was instantly reincarnated into Mr. McGregor out to do in Peter Cottontail. Running for his shot gun, grabbing the shells he charged from vantage point to vantage point as  he loaded his gun. “There” exploded from his mouth as he caught site of the hare lippity-lopping across the snow. He grabbed hold of the knob to the door to the deck but this day fate was on Peter’s side. At 25 below zero the door knob was frozen in place and refused to turn. Muttering frustration Dan headed through the mud room and garage and out the back door but he was too late. The rabbit had disappeared in the bushes leaving his trail behind him.
Later Dan found what he wasn’t looking for, tracks all around the tree nursery where the yearling grafts were waiting out winter carefully blanketed in a protective cover of snow.
The trees, every last one, were neatly nibbled down to the snow line. Dan heaved a sigh of relief. Because of the deep snow the rabbit wasn’t able to girdle the trunks by chewing the bark all around the base of the tree and had merely sort of pruned them. So the saplings were safe but the trees in the orchard may not be. Although each of them wears a protective cover to keep mice, voles and rabbits from chewing the bark we have had so much snow this winter that it is now well above the protectors providing easy reach of a hungry rabbit to the unprotected bark. Many an orchard has been wiped out by the gnawing teeth of a cute little creatures delighted with their good fortune of finding something so tasty to carry them through the winter.
Peter remains on the loose and Dan remains on the hunt and both of us wait to see what spring will bring, good news or disaster.
And Great Grey keeps showing up to give us a treat.

Perched atop one of the apple trees he keeps those sharp eyes watching for the fat voles  busy harvesting the sunflower seeds knocked to the ground by the hordes of red polls and chickadees and grosbeaks that come to the feeder.