The Secret of Five Owl Farm

When owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light. . . .

This day featured a massive grocery shopping trip I was not part of, because my husband did all of that, after dropping me off at Tudek Park for my stroll. As we arrived at the parking lot, I spotted some pumpkin remains with a squirrel sitting right inside one. Did I get that shot? Nope! The squirrel scampered away before I could snap it! 

But the community gardens were lovely, even in their January sparsity. Leftover cherry tomatoes hanging from a trellis formed musical notation written against the open sky. Only memories remain of the gardens in their August splendor and abundance; sweet wistful tunes, songs sung blue by the resident birds.

There were three horses in the farm field by the big barn, and I visited them and took many photos. Two were larger, dark horses. One was smaller, with a paler coat. In the extras, you may see a shot of two horses seeming to have a conversation. The left one's lips seem to be moving. What is it saying?

I made my way along the big wooden fences and over to the barn and the tree that are the centerpiece, for me, of this place. And I stood and looked upon this amazing white oak with the barn behind it, as filtered light, and then blue light, and then gray light, came down on the scene. The sun almost began to shine, then thought better of it.

There was a book I loved as a child called The Ghost of Five Owl Farm, and so I titled this blip based on that. I guess the main secret of this blip is that this is NOT Five Owl Farm, but Tudek Park, and if there are owls here, I have not met them yet. Are there ghosts here? There just might be, but even ghosts can keep their secrets.

The photo above is a gift of the changing light and the tree, which shelters and makes moody the spot where I stand, watching, with camera. I am just here for this splendid dark moment of tree and sky and barn, and horses chatting, and squirrels dancing, noticed but unphotographed, on empty pumpkin shells.

Now, my song selection for this blip . . . first, for the image above, I've got Loreena McKennitt, with The Mummers' Dance, from her album The Book of Secrets (the quote above is from this song). I can't resist tossing in this Neil Diamond hit as a bonus for the blue shot above: Song Sung Blue. And for the image in the extras, of the two horses chatting, here's Stevie Nicks, with Talk to Me, from her excellent 1985 album, Rock a Little.