Great Horned Owl At Dusk ...

 

“If we cannot sing of faith and triumph, we will sing our despair. We will be that kind of bird. There are day owls, and there are night owls, and each is beautiful and even musical while about its business.”

                  ~ Henry David Thoreau

                           ~ 1817 ~ 1862

What a hoot!

A Great Horned Owl, the first I’ve ever captured in a photo, is perched in a tree as a summer dusk wraps around Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania, on a July evening.

It is known for its prominent ear tufts (“horns”). These are not ears, but rather tufts of feathers on the head – plumicrons - used for communication and camouflage, helping them blend into tree bark.  The ears are located on the sides of its head, directly behind their eyes, hidden under their feathers. Their large, forward-facing bright yellow eyes provide incredible night vision for hunting, as these raptors are nocturnal predators. They achieve near silent flight thanks to specialized feathers that disrupt and absorb aerodynamic noise. 

 “Hoot Owl” is a common nickname.

Springhouse Of The Autumn Moon ...

“I love the autumn – that melancholy season that suits memories so well.”

                    ~ Gustave Flaubert

                       ~French novelist

                         ~1821-1860

The moon peeks over the Springhouse at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania, as dusk settles in in this painterly, HDR scene I captured on a beautiful mid-November evening.

The log cabin was part of Springhouse, the summer home of General Harry Clay Trexler (1854-1933), an American industrialist who built a business empire in Allentown. The park is his namesake.

 

Shank Of The Evening ...

It’s the shank of the evening! But when is that, exactly? This phrase typically suggests that the night is far from over, shank being an old word for something, straight, or the tail end of something. But as the Dictionary of American Regional English notes, in the South, evening is considered “the time between late afternoon and dusk.”

The lyrics “In the shank of the night,

When the doins’ are right

Well you can tell 'em I’ll be there …” are part of “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of The Evening,” music by Hoagy Carmichael & lyrics by Johnny Mercer, 1951

It’s the shank of the evening as the moon is illuminated by the last hues of the setting summer sun as the sky segues to twilight on July 1, 2020 at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

I just love the phrase “shank of the evening,” and was very happy to take a photo that showcases it!