Owls and wool and out!

After the busyness of Tuesday's trip to the capitol, and a day visiting a friend's farm on Wednesday (pigs! creek! run!!), we hunkered in a bit on Thursday.  There was more felt noodling, and Ani needle-felted a hill.

We started to experiment with more than spirals...still trying to figure out what to do with the worms we love making.

It rained all day, but lightened up just in time for us to drive out to a local Owl Prowl.

There was an incredible turnout, but still enough room for us to make masks, and dissect an owl pellet before the presentation.

We met two of Ohio's year-round owl residents: a Great Horned Owl, named Ivan the Terrible (and we heard the story of how he got his name...

 ...see the talons below? Imagine their 400-pound crushing strength going through your arm...mmmhmmm...)

 The second was a barred owl, named Luna. She was so small and sweet by comparison! Ani's been quoting owl facts randomly since that evening...did you know that owls don't have enough room in their skulls for muscles, 'cause their eyes are SO BIG? That's why they can't look at you out of the corner of their eye, but have to turn their whole head. It also means they don't have much room for brains...

They make up for those flaws with incredible hearing and the afore-mentioned crushing power of their talons.  The naturalist, from the nearby Hocking Hills, took us on a very dark walk, calling for barred owls, but whether due to the rain or the size of our group, we didn't hear anyone reply. Well, not officially - Eliza and I are pretty certain that if we could have gotten everyone to stand still we could have confirmed a call or two that we're pretty sure we heard. And definitely a call as we climbed into our car.

 Dan got home from his trip on Friday morning, and we put him right into action; following the presentation of sweet treats from the northern lands we suited up for a romp through the woods.

We're still experiencing huge fluctuations in weather - snow and ice, then temperatures near 50. Things are definitely growing out there, proceeding as if there were no real winter...

Chickweed!

We remembered a bag for trash on this hike; it's a state park and there's so much left from the summer 'round the lake. They drain it for the winter, and it was easy pickings all around its edge. Never know what you might find...maybe even a stegosaurus!

Club moss

Hepatica nobilis

The weekend we've spent at market...a self defense class for me and Eliza...dinner with friends...reading and finishing a graphic novel with 186 pages for Eliza...and today was Cleaning Day - the sort where everyone pitches in and things sparkle...Mormor's coming tomorrow!!