Why Is It Dark Already?

Fourth day in a row I didn’t get a picture of my completed sock before it got dark. And there is just so very much darkness at this latitude, at this time of year. It’s 6PM and the sun is almost gone.

Last night it was supposed to get down into the 30s. I didn’t find out until it was already late in the evening. For colder weather, I staple something over the windows in the chicken tractor, so that the hens can be snug with their body heat warming their little mini-coop.

This year I bought heavy-duty plastic sheeting just for the purpose. It looks a lot more nice than the cut-up feed bags I used last year.

While I was out there, I used the hoe to scrape the caked droppings off their resting board. This is just a stray board that I set across the bottom of the tractor’s frame, so that they could stand up out of the muck on wet days. It sure does get yucky. I had one of those “How has my life come to this?” moments, which is why I tweeted.

I love tweeting from the chicken coop. It’s one of those funny little joys.

Also, today I saw a very large owl, but I didn’t get a picture of that, either. He perched in a tree across the yard for long enough to be admired, but not so long that I could get out there with the camera.

My guess is Northern Hawk Owl, which the Peterson guide describes as “A medium sized, hawk-like, day-flying owl” (check, check, check) “with a long rounded tail and completely barred underparts” (check; unsure). And “it flies low, rising abruptly to its perch” (check).

If so, it’s a new one to me, and I get excited at the prospect of a new owl to add to the list:

The only sad thing about all the owls around here is that it tells you how many mice we have. Which is to say, all the mice. ALL OF THEM.