Yesterday was very cool.  I had to wear a winter jacket on the tractor when I went out to mow the lower lawn.  We are heading for a high today of 65 F–it is 46 F outside and 65 in the house this morning.  It feels good to hold my coffee mug in both hands, and it helps restore some sense of feel in my icy fingers.

This morning, I was moving some photos from the camera memory card onto the computer hard drive, when I saw the following picture.  Can it be that far away?

I certainly hope it takes a while.  Early next year, we’ll be glad to have the weather we are “enjoying” just now.

The precipitation that constitute the remnants of tropical storm Irene are 100 miles east of us.  Yesterday, after lunch I went out to work under a mostly cloudy sky.  The clouds were like thin layers of marshmallows with charcoal centers.  I looked up from mowing and saw a familiar figure against one of those clouds.  It was a turkey buzzard gliding very high on the stiff breeze.  She was nearly a mile away and probably a half mile high.  (Yes, I do have good eyesight.)  About 20 minutes later she had returned (or perhaps it was another of the species) and she was only a half-mile away.  As I paused to watch the graceful flight, a shadow passed over me.  After a brief pause, I looked up near the sun and saw her mate glide silently past me.

As I continued watching, the mowing forgotten for a moment, the two glided effortlessly along as if in formation a half-mile apart.  They continued northward, eventually turning westward and out of my sight.  I returned my attention to the job at hand.

About 10 minutes later I saw a red tailed hawk rise from behind my neighbor’s house.  Quickly she rose on her powerful wings and, gaining altitude, crossed over the road and a large tree on the other side.  A cloud of small birds whirled and scattered as the swift predator flew their way.  She did not appear to be interested in them and flew on her way.  The show over, it was time to go back to work.