Nine days ago I walked down this sidewalk in New Jersey – See the sun does shine in New Jersey.

The only folks that were out and about before I went our were dog walkers – Do you know how I know that?

Oh, you wonder where the owl came from – a wildlife re-hab person brought it to a pot luck supper for the friends of the TGO Nature Center – No the owl did not bring any food – no dead mouse or any thing – so we had to let him share in the food we brought – only kidding — SOME FACTS: Screech owls are primarily solitary. During the late-winter breeding season, however, males make nests in cavities, sometimes reusing abandoned nests of other animals, to try to attract females. The females select their mate based on the quality of the cavity and the food located inside. During the incubation period, the male feeds the female. These birds are monogamous, with biparental care. The young of most screech owls are altricial to semialtricial.
Altricial, meaning “requiring nourishment”, refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born. The word is derived from the Latin root alere meaning “to nurse, to rear, or to nourish” and refers to the need for young to be fed and taken care of for a long duration.[1] Species whose young are immediately or quickly mobile are known as precocial.

I hopped on my Motorcycle yesterday after spending a full day in my office catching up on work I left undone while on my New Jersey visit! Went to the national sea shore – I love to watch the shore birds – I do not know one from the other – that does not matter – ’cause they a re all fun to watch.

And watch you must, i have been told – I think this the Portuguese man o’ war, also known as the Portuguese man-of-war, man-of-war, or bluebottle is a marine cnidarian of the family Physaliidae. Its venomous tentacles can deliver a painful sting.

The while taking the garbage out after we had dinner I found this guy on the road. I think he is a pygmy rattler. This is what I found on the web I been told they are very dangerous ????? These snakes only attain a length of 2½ feet, but average around a foot in length.   Their small size & moderately mild venom keeps them from being a serious threat to human life, but the bite is still extremely painful. One man I know was bitten severely enough by a large pygmy that he was hospitalized, and very nearly died.  Despite their diminutive size, I have yet to meet one that didn’t act like it was 12 feet long and ready to take on anything.  If you give the snake half of an opportunity to bite you, it will happen.   Don’t count on hearing the rattle, as it is very slender and does not produce much noise.

Finally, a wildlife shot sent to me for the blog – just a 9 week old baby – maybe 50#
Leonberger! What fun we had together – just a week ago- in the snow!

Spring is here – the cows are in the pasture – looking across the fence for greener pastures – Next month I get to see the horses – can not wait! So get outside and send me some photos of your experience!