Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Bold supervision


Hay harvest on our ranch started this week. Part of that process involves getting all the equipment greased, gassed, tuned up and ready to work – including machinery that hasn’t been touched since hay harvest ended last year.

Our two tractors are kept in a fenced stackyard next to the south meadow, and the other day, Jim started shuttling equipment to the meadow on the other side of the highway. When he picked up the bucket on the front of the tractor, there must have been at least eight mice underneath, enjoying the green moist growth and the cool darkness. By the time we came back for more equipment, a Swainson’s hawk had scoped out the situation and patiently waited for us to reveal more treats.

1 comment:

Matt Mullenix said...

A Swainson's was confirmed nesting in Louisiana this year. Evidently they are moving in.

But as much as I go west for hawking, I always go in the winter and have never seen one.