September is nearly done!

As we head into October, a peek at September rains.  

rainstorm Sept. 17 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I've been having fun with outdoor decor. Scarecrow sits atop the cat. 

Just before I placed her there, I found a dock spider attacking a caterpillar. 

dock spider from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Some birds migrate, like phoebe. I heard one a couple of days ago. 

Some of our birds do not migrate.

I have heard our hawk in the forest. It is a juvenile rough-legged hawk, and has figured out how to fly and eat prey!

The crows and blue jays are having issues. They are calling to one another. It made me think of West Side Story 1961, The Jets and the Sharks.

 

crows & blue jays from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I heard quite a few motorcycles making a lot of noise on the highway on the weekend. For someone with anxiety (triggered by noise), I got so irritated. I am glad to know what the point was. There were 400 motorcycles in Perth to honour veterans.

   

Rough-legged Hawk – part 2

I had confirmation from Gilligallou birder Bob, that this is a rough-legged hawk, a young one. I know I've heard it whining begging for food out the back. 

In the morning, Aug. 8th, a rough-legged hawk was sitting atop the satellite tower [We had visitors!]. I heard it before I spotted it. Turns out, there were a pair, and they hung around. Going into the house, to rest my foot, again, there it was on the tree out the front window.

They were around an hour. First, 10 a.m., then 11:30 photos.

rough-legged hawk from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Later on, 4:30 that afternoon, I got worried about Fred. It was back. I didn't worry too much, since hawk dropped its frog, or whatever, in the evergreen. 

Now, Fred is too big for them, but it is worrisome when a raptor, a bird of prey, sits atop the post and glares down at you.

6:30 p.m., they were back! I looked on the ground and saw something. I was worried that it was Fred. Hobbling out, I found out it was just the 2nd hornet's nest, abandoned last fall. Whew!

🛫 🛫 🛫 🛫 🛫 🛫 🛫 🛫 🛫 🛫 🛫 🛫 🛫 🛫

Our Fearless Foursome Flyers spent hours in the Melbourne airport after checking out and having to stay somewhere. They were going back in time on Wednesday, Thursday in Australia, from there to Singapore, back to Wednesday. I just keep asking Siri the time wherever they are! 

The next leg of their trip is from Melbourne to Singapore, and 35 hours of travel from there to London.

With my foot up, it entertained me to watch their take-off, while I wondered why it was aborted. What, me worry?! 

We had visitors!

 I've been limited to the house, which is fine by me, but we were going to look for a new countertop and taps for the bathroom. I am still limping about. The leaky tap is on hold! The trick will be to find another sink counter top that works with this one. 

JB fetched us pizza for dinner. What have I been doing? Not much, I tell ya. 

⚽ I tried taping the women's soccer for JB, but 23 minutes in France was already up 3 - 0 over Morocco, so that wasn't really a game. Columbia and Jamaica spent most of the game diving. No fun for viewers. The US/Sweden game was great. There was little diving for penalty kicks. Canada doesn't dive, either.

🎾 Tennis was exciting, with Milos Raonic coming back after years away with injuries. There was a 20-minute tie breaker, and he managed 229 kph serving. He's gotten married during his time off, she's a cutie. It was a nail biter of a game.

Milos Raonic

⛲ My new water fountain pump arrived, but I cannot fix the fountain with my foot like this. The section I tipped over weighs about 30 lbs. 

Just when I thought the excitement for the morning was done, I went out front to check out the Asiatic Lilies.

I was busily doing photos, gingerly being careful of my foot, and I heard a noise. Way up on the Internet satellite, a hawk. 

 

hawk 1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I think a sharp-shinned rough-legged hawk, but I don't know. It sat up there, then I dashed out to the back deck to watch. What a surprise! I had so much time that I put the videocamera on the tripod. 

hawk from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It turns out there are a pair of them! Aug. 8 11:30 a.m.