Alright people, I've got great news! :) First of all, after writing my post over here - I went outside to check on the bird. He (or she) was standing in the early morning sunlight. So in such good light conditions, I saw that the eye was not destroyed! The wound was actually very close to the left eye, and so because of the swelling the eye was closed. I could see the 3rd eyelid working. So I guess this means that the eyeball is safe. Therefore I hope and pray that soon (after the wound will heal) everything will go back to normal. Anyway as I was saying, yesterday morning I saw that he (or she) was soaking up the early morning sunlight. So about an hour afterwards I went outside to feed it some meat. Now just as the bird saw me walking up to him, he immediately flew to my left side - Very quickly circled (at about 8 feet high in the air), and came right at me! I at once ducked, otherwise I am 100% sure that my eyes would have been taken out! I just saw something very big, coming right at me from the sun - So I simply said time to hit the deck... :) Anyway when I got up, I couldn't see the bird anywhere. So I went up on the roof. And there I found it soaring freely. Then I noticed something else too. And that was, a little before the sun had come - There was another Kite hawk making noises nearby. I am now sure that he or she was the mate of the injured bird! So just as my bird flew away, that bird joined it in the air and then they both started making their calls! They did not fight, rather it was almost as if they were practicing synchronized flight! :) Anyway I now have a picture, I got one of them flying - The other one was just outside the camera's frame.

Took these a while back and never got around to posting them, ran across them again today and thought I'd see if someone could help me figure out what kind of bird/raptor this is, some photos are in a set, but there are a few more which aren't in set that show a second bird flying in around tree, assuming it's a parent bird but idk, this bird almost looks to be a hawk of some kind with no head feathers, or does to me anyway. Any help appreciated! Thanks Here is a link that might be useful: Mystery bird pics

Great horned owls can attack and take small (very small) dogs. Saw one do it ... it was in the habit of stopping in the parking lot where I worked, perched on a light post. hoping for one more bunny or mouse. We were admiring it when a man came jogging through the industrial park, preceded by a very small dog running off leash about 50 feet in front of him ... end of dog. The owl swooped, snatched, and kept going, with a very dead (limp,not moving) dangling from its talons. If the idiot owner had followed the leash laws, the dog would have been

You know, I posted an additional thank you yesterday and the darn post has disappeared! I wanted to thank KitchenDetective for recommending the bisque soup at Gaido's. At first I couldn't find it on the menu, but then realized that it's listed as Watkins Bisque Soup. I can't thank you enough for that as it's, hands-down, the most delicious soup I've ever eaten! We all LOVED it! If I can't find the recipe at one of the internet recipe sites, I'm going to have to break down and buy their cookbook for it. THANK YOU!!! Natal: we loved our lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, too! It was lovely to sit out on their dock patio and just soak in the atmosphere as we ate. I had their Shrimp Salad and a nice glass of chilled chardonnay. Yummm . . . I miss the place already! Imsoconfused: no, we never made it to Moody Gardens. I'd read on some travel review website that not everything was open yet. Next trip we're going to head there, though. Stinky Gardener: you're welcome . . . I'm glad you enjoyed them :~) Texanjana: We drove by Bishop's Palace several times and, yes, it is gorgeous! Unfortunately, DH only had the patience for one house tour and so we let our 17 y/o DD decide which one and she picked Moody Mansion. BTW, this coming weekend is their BIG multiple home tour event. Wish we could have made it to that! As for hurricane damage, yes we were surprised that there still was some evident. Even along Seawall Blvd. we saw a few places that had never been repaired. They were repairing two of the jetties/piers west(?) of 61st Street and Seawall while we were there. A local said that it was about time! At Moody Mansion, they have markers to show how high the water came up there and it looked to be about 4 feet. The grounds and mansion looked good, but we were told that one car was badly damaged during the hurricane and was out being repaired . . . still, after all this time. The lowest level of the mansion, which housed the kitchen and servants quarters, is still almost completely empty. They took us through area, but there wasn't anything to see really. Looking at the new, high-end, gorgeous homes going up at the east end of the island, I just had to shake my head at it all. IMO, they are so exposed out there and, unless they're all being made out of steel with bullet/hurricane-proof glass, it's hard to imagine them making it through another major hurricane. Lynn