Pink Sails In The Sunset

The days are getting noticably shorter; sunsets are earlier. It was going on 9pm when I noticed all the pink clouds.

They were billowing above my head.....

.....and above the pond.

While the lyrics may be slightly off, those pink sails in the sunset were right on.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, there was a creature working the lilies.

Do you see it? Just above center on the left side. I remember these hummingbird moths from my childhood when I stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Ridnour - the last trip to the outhouse before bedtime.

Close up, but out of focus. There would be several of these sphinx moths quaffing nectar around Grandma's numerous flower beds.

As a child, we rarely saw real hummingbirds, so seeing these act-alike moths was almost as good as.

By the time I finished trying to get a good picture of the moth, it was almost dark. I came in to put the camera away.

And saw a shadowy silhouette on the grass down by the pond. A cat? That little dog of the neighbor's? I had to go back out to see if I could zoom it close enough to tell. There were ears sticking up which made me think it could be....

.....and, after lightening the photo, was, a great-horned owl. It sat there for a long time. Why, I wondered, but still don't know. In my limited experience, they don't stay on the ground long, usually observing, hunting, from a higher perch.

If I weren't such a creature of habit, retiring at 10pm nightly, and if I had a more expensive camera, who knows what kind of photos I might get? Still, I'm happy I got these.