It was a beautiful night with a half moon. Though it was cold, 20 community members came out to celebrate the crystal clear view of the sky.
Orion's nebula, the moon's craters, Jupiter and its moons were all big hits. Though the light from the moon washed out some detail, that didn't much matter! Participants took turns peeking through the Levy's scopes at the celestial sights, and there was lots of conversation about the movement of the earth around the sun. We were all taken by the arrangement of Jupiters moons ... like duckling following after their mama!
Once we realized our toes were going numb, we bounced up and down 16 times and set off towards the lake. Crunching over the snow, we were pretty sure most of the animals anywhere nearby would have taken off for parts unseen! We followed up our noisy walk with a quiet pause at the crest of the hill above Foley Fields and could hear a dog barking up by Jackson Street ... not much else.
Cold toes once again insisting on attention, we knew we had to "sample" the area. Aiden and Ms.Levy gave a few hoots and, wouldn't you know, a Great Horned Owl hoots back. Funny though, we gave the "who-cooks-for-you" call of the Barred Owl. That spurred lots of conversation of how a Great Horned might feel about having a Barred Owl in its territory. We all agreed that a smart Barred Owl would leave.
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| ducklings? |
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| In the sword, below Orion's belt |
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| Our ploy, the Barred Owl |
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| The master of the Lake Wallace woodland, the resident Great Horned Owl |
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| And look whoo showed up in Meg's backyard in Naperville, Il!! |
(full disclosure ... not our pictures!)
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