FreeLists / az-observing / [AZ-Observing] The Screech Owl and the Trifid Nebula

["Steve Coe" <stevecoe@xxxxxxxxx>]

Howdy all;

Well Joe Goss and I had a nice evening at the Hovatter "Antennas" site.  =
Joe
had to leave at midnight or so and I laid down for a nap.  After an =
hour's
sleep, I got up around 1 AM to really still air and excellent =
transparency
considering the breezy weekend. =20

So, I am observing showpieces up and down the Milky Way and have settled =
in
on the Trifid.  As I study it carefully at 125X, a screech owl lets =
loose
with a blood curdling scream about 30 feet over my head.

I think there was a moment when the bird and I were at the same =
altitude.  I
don't know what the Olympic high jump record is, but I'll bet I could
certainly win for my weight class.

Of course, the bird flew off and started screeching about 500 yards away =
in
hopes of scaring up a meal.  Their plan is to be absolutely quiet until
right on top of what they are trying to frighten, and it works!=20

Regardless, it was a very nice weekend, lots of observing;
Steve Coe =20

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