Nature

Gambol brought me a box turtle on our early morning walk and a dead chipmunk while we were gardening. Both 4-legged boys missed a 4' long black snake sunning in the grass. Three boys scared a jake in the driveway 50 feet from the house on their late morning walk. A bald eagle flew over the house and was buzzed by a crow. Hummingbirds did their U-shaped dance mating over the deck. I found a new flower: Hooker's orchid Platanthera hookeri in the bear's lair. It's on the Pa Endangered list.
A thunderstorm hit just after breakfast; Buddy starts quivering well before we can hear the thunder. He buried his head in my armpit then scrambled into my lap.
We have nature here at the Barony.

More Bald Eagles

12:30, temp 40 degrees, slight nw breeze, overcast with 6 snowflakes earlier. 2 more eagles soared by to the north.

Flyby

At about 4:30 on this rather gray afternoon, 51 degrees, the Baron saw 4 turkey vultures kettling a couple of hundred feet over the Toy Shed. We watched for a few minutes as they circled, drifting up, with no effort. Suddenly from the west we saw 6 bald eagles coast through a bit higher. We'll identify them as balds even though the golden migration is in its peak right now. The vultures drifted off with them but continued to circle. The eagles didn't appear to look right or left at the vultures. They had their wings set to glide and didn't waste a calorie. If only we had a groundhog in the meadow to snack on.
It's been 3 nights above freezing; our snow is gone. The high meadow across The Beaver Rd has only fringes of white near the trees.