Leaving for work in the morning (at 0530 - sigh!) i happened to glimpse a reflection off the side of the road in a bottom land not far from the house.  Even though i was late heading to the MARC train at Brunswick it seemed the prudent thing to slow down.  Sure enough 3 deer (a female and two yearlings) crossed the road just in front of me...

At almost the same point in the road on the way home this evening, i noticed something odd, small and owl-like in the middle of the road.  I drove up to it, stopped, put on the emergency flashers and found - a grey-phase screech owl sitting on the road!  I was able to walk up to it without spooking it.  Finally, after a poke, it flew weakly off the road into some brambles where it perched looking back at me.  In warmer months i have heard them calling from that area...anyway a nice end to what had been a crummy day at NIH and a reminder for all of us unable/unwilling to spend the time/gas to see the Cambridge ducks that opportunity knocks at the strangest times and even, possibly, quite close to home.

Jim (Michael) Speicher
jugornought—at—yahoo-dot-com
Bethesda @work :(
Broad Run_S. FRED Co @home :)