Lone Tree I

Today has been a busy day and full of many surprises. The morning started off cool 26F (-3.3C) but by late afternoon the temperature was a wonderful 40F (4.4C) when I took Kyora out for a walk through the fields, which still have a little snow on the trails but most of it has melted.

When I returned from running my errands in Peterborough I was delighted to see my pair of North American Kestrels have returned and will once again be nesting in the hawk box on the south side of the house.

We have had a pair of Kestrels nesting there for over 35 years; originally they nested in a hole in the building under the eaves but after five years we finally finished that side of the house in the late fall and closed the opening. Rather than the birds trying to find a new home when they came back in February I called the Toronto Zoo and received the dimensions for a hawk box that would be appropriate for them.

Ron built it and put it up in the late fall and they adapted to their new nest with no trouble, other than the first year kicking out the starlings that tried to take over their nesting site.

With wear and tear from the elements over the years we have had to replace the box three times with a new one.

I wanted to work on a drawing of one of the old dead trees along the fence line that will soon be felled and turned into firewood. It didn't take me long to do this little drawing and return to the house to warm up with a nice cup of hot tea.

Thank you for coming to look at my artwork and I hope you will return often.