Althouse: Flying creature competes with the sun.

June 9, 2025

Flying creature competes with the sun.

At 5:23 this morning.

A bit later, the sun competed in this picture Meade took of me:

21 comments:

FormerLawClerk said...: Icarus arises.; 6/9/25, 7:35 AM
Rocco said...: FormerLawClerk said...
“Icarus arises.”

Or one of those Chinese bird drones.; 6/9/25, 7:39 AM
n.n said...: Hark, a flight on a lark.

"But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?It is the east, and [Ann] is the sun.Arise, fair sun..."
h/t Shakespeare
Coauthor Mead of Meadhouse; 6/9/25, 7:40 AM
MadTownGuy said...: Alligator lizard in the air.; 6/9/25, 7:43 AM
Iman said...: “Fly like an eagle…”; 6/9/25, 7:50 AM
Chris said...: Does it smell like campfire where you are? It does here in michigan (metro detroit) - Canada fires.; 6/9/25, 7:50 AM
Boris Badenov said...: We had a heavy smoky haze all the way down here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia last week, on top of heavy pollen from everyone's 1st hay cutting. Thankfully we had a lot of rain and the winds have changed and blew it all out of here. At least for now.; 6/9/25, 8:01 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Does it smell like campfire where you are? It does here in michigan (metro detroit) - Canada fires."

No. I checked with Meade, who unlike me, has a sense of smell. But the air quality was rated unhealthful (because of the Canada smoke).; 6/9/25, 8:11 AM
BudBrown said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/9/25, 8:21 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: You seem to be walking with vigour up those stairs (or hill). Good for you.; 6/9/25, 8:33 AM
Quaestor said...: Owl.; 6/9/25, 9:13 AM
Rocco said...: Boris Badenov said...
“We had a heavy smoky haze all the way down here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia last week, on top of heavy pollen from everyone's 1st hay cutting.”

Those of us who don’t have to worry about cutting the hay affecting our air quality still have to worry about cutting the cheese having a negative impact.; 6/9/25, 9:45 AM
rehajm said...: Yes, totally owl…; 6/9/25, 10:03 AM
Jaq said...: We are getting a break from the smoke today, according to the weather guy, but yesterday morning it was so thick that I had to slow down a bit driving. It could have had some fog mixed in, but the weather didn't seem right for fog and it was fully mid day.; 6/9/25, 10:10 AM
Jaq said...: I think that we are going to have to use Bayesian logic to figure out the bird, and before I zoomed in my first thought was buzzard, but after zooming in, I am betting my case of whiskey on owl.; 6/9/25, 10:13 AM
Jaq said...: Nah, I was thinking about it and I think that time of day, milieu, and the general silhouette has me changing my bet to a night heron flying home after working the night shift fishing.

Of course it's impossible to be sure, but I sometimes used to see a pair of night herons flying by at dusk in Florida, which memory made me change my vote. Maybe somebody can ask Grok.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-crowned_Night_Heron/photo-gallery; 6/9/25, 10:39 AM
Jaq said...: Then again, the tail is not right for a night heron.; 6/9/25, 10:41 AM
Quaestor said...: Night heron? Not enough beak or neck showing Furthermore, a night heron's legs trail behind the deck feathers in flight.

I'm sticking with an owl, probably a great horned owl. They aren't usually associated with lake environments, but they are opportunistics hunters. This one could have spent the night hunting ducklings.; 6/9/25, 12:36 PM
Rusty said...: Yeah. Goin' with owl. Good catch.

As some of you may know my little area of the country got a hellacious wind and rain yesterday. hail, high winds and pissing rain. And because I'm a normal midwestern male I stood in my garage and watched it. The rain was horizontal and so heavy for awhile I couldn't see my neighbors house across the street. Many branches came down and rolled pass me down the street. No sirens. A helicopter is making a pain in the ass out of itself flitting and hovering over the neighborhoods.
No sooner had the water gone down the storm drain the insurance adjusters and roofers and siding people came out roaming the streets. It's 1:30 here and I must of had twenty here so far.
And just to put your hearts at ease. I'm fine. Seriously I'm OK. The house is OK too. Just some branches down.; 6/9/25, 1:22 PM
Jaq said...: Just trying to stir it up a little bit, but no, to paraphrase "My Cousin Vinny" , "Does Jaq's theory hold water?"
"No, Jaq's theory does not hold water!"; 6/9/25, 1:39 PM
amr said...: As I mention here, the bird is a Swallow:
https://althouse.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-return-of-flying-creature.html?showComment=1749675359133#c3626605688675781495; 6/11/25, 3:58 PM