While the cats away---

As most of the family knows, Carlene is in New Mexico for spring break. Therefore this mouse is out to play as much as possible. Well, at least for as long as the small funds I have set aside will last. Lets see, that might just make it one more day if I don't go anywhere. I did play on Sunday in Camas National Wildlife Refuge. I have to say it was one of the most rewarding trips taken there. I arrived there around 3:30 pm and spent the next three hours searching the trees for my quarry. I was just about to give up and go home when I decided to go along the opposite side of a line of trees I had already searched. About a third of the way along the trees I spotted the object of my quest.

This owl, with the fierce look, was perched on a branch about 4.5 feet off the ground. Its fierce look was directed at me for disturbing its sleep, since it is a night hunter. As owls go, there are only 4 owls in north america smaller than this one. Let me introduce you to the Saw-whet owl. If you look at the branch above the back of its head, its approximate one inch diameter should give you an idea of its diminutive 8 inch size. The Elf owl at 6 inches is truly the smallest. One bird book calls it a friendly owl. I know it wasn't afraid of me being around. Some of the pictures I took were from about 3 feet away while he stared at me through half open eyes. I would have liked getting a picture with eyes completely open. I also goth the feeling it was thinking, "if I ignore him, maybe he will go away." But like some things it just didn't happen.
OH WELL! This mouse had a really enjoyable sunday afternoon. Just a little side note on size. The robin is a bird measuring 10 inches.

Rexburg Temple

The Rexburg, Idaho Temple. Dedication day found Carlene and I in Rexburg, not for the dedication, to visit Lyle and Nancy. We would like to have attended, circumstances(lack of tickets) made it impossible. I had mentioned to Lyle that I would like to go up the hill and take pictures of the temple just at sundown. Even with an overcast sky, there is a quality to the light that cannot be matched at just before the sun comes up above the horizon and just after it goes down in the evening. So, cameras and tripods in had we set off to see what we could capture. Of course we needed tripods to get good exposures due to the long exposure times and the bone chilling cold. There was no way a camera could be held steady enough to get a clear shot. When we got there we had to park about 2 blocks up the hill from the temple, so we took some pictures of the south side then walked down the hill to get angled shots from the south east. With the throngs of people leaving the temple and temple grounds, it was difficult to get any pictures without lots of both in view. This one was the best.