Daily check of the broad-winged hawk nest near our house, high in a maple tree, sometimes reveals a head on the nest and sometimes a tail; the incubating female taking in the view from both directions, as she sits there for 28 to 31 days, giving new perspective to our present stay-at-home situation.

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Jupiter and Saturn are getting closer to one another (from our vantage point). They’ll be at their closest on December 21st, so stay tuned.
Some of us need to relearn the thrush songs anew every year: the sort of ee-o-lay of the wood thrush, followed by a buzz; the longish first note of the hermit thrush followed by a jumble; the downward slide (think V) of the veery.
Cow parsnips are setting seed and Canada lilies are flowering – two field edge favorites.
Hobblebush leaves are nice in the summer, colorful in autumn, but now, as they unfurl, they might be at their best: an intricate tapestry, white against tan. An elegant tan that we’re probably supposed to call ecru.
Snowy owls have recently been seen in Vermont. We’ve all heard that they leave their arctic home when food there is scarce but another reason for these erratic irruptions might instead be that they occur following an unusually successful breeding season – successful because of an abundance of prey.
Proving once again that a hard rain is the best way to get rid of snow. Our 8 inches or so of snow was reduced to zero to 2 inches overnight. Creeks are rising.
Now that the ground has really frozen, some of us can cross a few jobs that we didn’t quite get to off the list.
Barred owls make noise all night long but they feed most actively at dawn and dusk; sometimes well after dawn and well before dusk.