And a series of three wicked snowstorms, the first of which blew in last night.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
A week ago today I photographed this male Rough-legged Hawk soon after he took off from his perch at Bear River MBR. If you haven’t already guessed as much, this is the same hawk that had his back to me while he was perched but immediately after takeoff he performed an impressive twisting maneuver that put him coming more my way rather than flying away from me.
I quite like the photo, even though there’s little detail in the shadows on his left wing and one wingtip is a little too close to the upper frame edge.
A slightly different crop of the same photo reveals a tiny portion of the sign that he just took off from. Having it there puts his takeoff posture in perspective but I’m not sure I like it because there’s so little of it showing. Showing significantly more of the sign ruins the composition of the photo for my tastes.
The next few days are going to be challenging for this hawk, for all birds really, and for yours truly.
We’re in the midst of a series of wicked snowstorms, the first of which blew in with a bang last night just before 9 pm. This is what it looked like out my back door at 3:15 this morning during a brief lull in the storm. There’s 11″ out there already (I measured) and it’s supposed to continue on and off until 11 AM today. After that it’s supposed to let up for a while before another storm comes in late tonight and into tomorrow and a third wave is lined up to hit us sometime late Thursday through Friday morning.
Yes, that’s one of my bird feeders on the left – nearly falling over because of the heavy, wet snow.
I’m trying not to complain too much because we need the moisture so badly but for me the timing sure isn’t good. I have an appointment with Ford early tomorrow morning to have some transmission work done on my pickup so I’ll probably be without a vehicle for a couple of days. Just getting it to Ford in all this snow is going to be, shall we say – tricky. I also have an appointment early tomorrow morning with a technician to repair my fireplace insert. Both appointments took me weeks to get so I don’t dare try to juggle either one of them. But they’re at about the same time so I still haven’t figured out how it’s all going to work in all this snow, if it works out at all.
To throw another monkey wrench into the works my coffeemaker is on the fritz so I need to buy a new one but I’m far from sure the roads will be passable with so much snow. Assuming I even have a vehicle available when I can get out.
The thought of me going days without coffee gives me the willies.
Ron
PS – Not to worry. I can always rig up a method to brew up a few cups of joe as long as I have a can of coffee in the pantry.
And I do. 🙂
I’m loving all the talk of rain and snow. After not having a drop of rain here in November it’s such a relief. The snow is piling up in Lake Tahoe with another storm coming in a minute. YAY!
And another YAY for your Roughie😊
P.S. A French Press is my coffee backup.
Pantaloonies! 😀 I need to send you a special tiny comb to help you pick all of those nits! 😉 This shot is great — with and without the sign. I like the crop with the sign a bit more — telling the story and all that.
Yay for the snow and bummer about the timing. Hopefully, roads are plowed enough for you to get to the Ford place and for your fireplace guy to get to you. We got some good rain yesterday. The moat around the back of the house has almost drained. Hopefully, it will be dry-ish by later today.
I’m thinking of all kinds of ways to creatively brew coffee. My dad lived in an actual Teepee for a while when he was in college and did a lot of camping/driving cross country, so I’ve heard of many interesting ways to get a cup of coffee (or tomato soup!).
Marty, your dad’s story reminded me – for a full quarter while I was living in the dorms at Utah State my freshman year I tried to save money by not paying my cafeteria quarterly payment and just eating “stuff” in my room. They didn’t allow hotplates or any kind of regular “cooking” in your rooms so the only hot food I had was soup. I had one of those old fashioned coiled heaters that were designed to heat up coffee in your cup but I used it for canned soup. After 3 months of that I got sick to death of soup, Vienna sausages, and chips – stuff like that.
I paid the cafeteria their money next quarter…
Will be emailing you a missive about my life living in the dorms at UCLA. Decided not to totally clutter your blog page (any more than I normally do). 😂😂😂
Nice roughie shots! I shoveled for 3 hours, it is wet and heavy, stick to the shovel stuff. I was hoping to get some bird shots in the yard but the resident Cooper’s hawk is in the area and every bird is hidden. I got a few of the Cooper’s high in the tree across the street. She is a beautiful big bird.
That “stick to the shovel” stuff was a PITA while I was shoveling my driveway and walks.
I love the Rough-Legged Hawk photos!! And I am very happy for your area receiving much needed snow. Now, let’s get down to the truly important issue in this post: Coffee! There are work-arounds even when your coffeemaker is on the fritz. (boil water and pour slowly over grounds in broken coffee maker) Man can live without a lot of things but we must have coffee and peanut butter!!
Melanie, I actually just got home after buying a new one. I’m set!
Roads and parking lots were still a huge mess though.
When you get tired of the snow down there, send some up here.. Mountain snow pack at 95% in the Flathead drainage..
Hey Morg, 95% seems pretty darn good to me, especially this year in the west.
Wow—gorgeous Roughie shot and lotsa snow, all in one post! So glad the raptors have returned … and winter, too. I had 1.5” of rain in my backyard gauge yesterday—it feels like a miracle — and other parts of SoCal got lots more! I will keep fingers X’d that you and the birds will manage well despite such inclement (but sorely needed) weather. ☃️
Unlike the previous post of him with a peak of his foot, this one has his landing gear in formidable view. Nice sequel.
I sprung for an espresso maker a couple of years ago. Drip coffee is history. Americanos. The only way to fly for me now.
Lyle, that espresso stuff is way too strong for me.
You really do need the moisture and I am glad for you. So much snow is virtually unheard of here – when we lived in another area which did get snow most winters the roads were closed after much less than that.
Stay warm, stay safe – and I do hope you can get another coffee maker – though I am very sure you will make do.
And thanks for the roughie too.
Our heat has started to ramp up and I know whose weather I would prefer.
EC, at the moment part of me wishes for a compromise between your weather and ours!
Where’s your camper, does it have a coffee pot? We have an old stovetop percolator that we keep on hand for camping and when we don’t have electricity. Be safe on the roads.
Jo, I looked in the camper but apparently I robbed that coffee maker from the trailer when another one quit on me last year.
Ron – sounds like you got a pretty good snow there. We got at most a half inch last night. Lots of rain though before. You will have to put your boots on and hike over to a neighbor and ask them to heat up your coffee.
Nice photos once again of that Roughie.
Everett, I think the coffee problem has been solved. A friend has offered me the use of her extra coffee maker.
Thank goodness for friends with spare coffee makers!! Coffee withdrawal is a serious health risk.
Love #1 hawk photo very much – and the snow looks awesome!!!
Thanks, Kathleen. It’s awesome and deep. There’s exactly a foot of snow out there right now.
Wow looks like you really got some snow. We only got a half inch at best, but very icy out there.
Your Roughie friend looks good as ever. Nice shot. Hard to imagine you going without coffee so not surprised that you can hook something up to make it happen. Hope your all appointments can be made.
Thanks, Everett. Miracle of miracles, the fireplace guy called and asked if he could come today instead of tomorrow. He’s here right now!
GREAT stroke of luck! 🙂 Nice to have that “backup”.
Now’s the time to hark back to your roots, for “cowboy coffee”…..all you need
is coffee, a grinder, water and a saucepan—I’m pretty sure I even saw directions for the technique online—purists use an eggshell as well, although you can
make do without it. Good luck with all the rest, and stay safe !
Kris, my grandpa Dudley taught me how to make cowboy coffee. That’s all he ever drank – he wouldn’t use a coffee maker, even an old fashioned percolator on the stove.
I really like that shot.
Always happy to see Roughies show up for the winter!
Thanks, Michael. I agree – last winter relatively few of this species showed up around here. Thankfully, this year it’s a different story.
Nice shot of the hawk!
We’ve got a few inches and still lightly snowing – not a lot of moisture in it BUT with the wild temperature swing yesterday the roads ARE greasy. Have an appt at 9:30 but may reschedule – fortunately it’s one we can without a lot of difficulty. Not whining TOO loudly tho given our need for moisture…. 😉
Was going to say that as long as you have power coffee IS possible even if not by the preferred method which I was sure you knew…… 😉
Judy, I think you need the moisture almost as badly as we do.
I can get pretty creative if the only alternative is to be without my morning coffee.
Ah, snow angst. I have come to know it well since I was forced to move east 3 years ago, though at least I have moved on from the terrified of snow stage. But it did force me to join the ranks of backyard birders and for that I am grateful. Here’s hoping your gorgeous hawk finds some sustenance soon. Tip: always keep a spare coffeemaker around. Life is too short to be without really, really good coffee. 😉👍
Granny Pat, I thought I had a spare coffee maker in my camping trailer but when I checked last night I didn’t. Apparently I’d already robbed the trailer when a previous coffee maker died on me.
I need to learn to anticipate and plan better…