Food Chain

 I went out early this morning to take photos on our undeveloped property out west of us

It was a gorgeous, still dawn.  I wanted to catch the sunrise before it got too far up in the sky so I pulled over onto a gravel road.  While I was taking the above photos, two men with a trailer pulled up to round up some cattle that had gotten out.  I didn't take any pictures of their efforts because I figured they were aggravated enough, already. 

By the time I got to the property, the sky was bluing up but you could still see the moon:

The leaves are just starting to bud but it is still pretty bare:

I just tramped around taking pictures.  At one point, I found a shed antler that I picked up to take home for the girls.  I also saw a small skull that looked like a skunk or a possum.

I always like to snap photos of this old farm thing.  Here it is, first thing in the morning:

I didn't realize, at first, that something was on it, watching me.  Look where the yellow arrow is pointing, below:

Closer:

Yup.  A Great Horned Owl that I didn't notice until it reared up and glared at me.  It took off and I immediately started snapping shots.  They are out of focus but you can still see that it is carrying something huge:

 I'm pretty sure it is a rabbit:

I climbed up on the machinery to see if there was some guts or something (yeah, I'm gross) and lo and behold, a nest!

Well, it is where it is putting its eggs, anyway.  No robin would claim this shack.  Those eggs are just laying out there. 

The eggs were roughly the size of very large chicken eggs - rounder, though.  And heavy.  I moved one but put it right back and left them alone. 

As soon as I took the pictures, I immediately tried to spot where the owl flew by running around to the side of the machine.  It was gone, however, and I have no idea how it could have disappeared that fast so it may have been hiding in the tall grass. 

Here was another casualty of nature:

Something a bit prettier, but still losing its seeds:

After a couple of hours I loaded up to head home.   Here is a section line road about a mile south:

There was a grass fire not far from there that was sending smoke over and darkening the sky. 

The girls loved the antler I brought home:

Evelyn took it, first, but after a bit, she shared it with Pearl and they gnawed different points.  When Evelyn got tired of it, Pearl kept on chewing:

Nature is cruel:

Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and Pearl