Tonight's visitor and pictures from around here

What a joy for Maya to finally see one of these, here!  She's visited so many times and heard our stories, but never got to see a big boy in person.  Tonight I had just returned home from work and it was just getting dark.   We were talking and I looked out the window to see this big guy headed toward the house.  I'm pretty sure he would have come all the way up here too, if a certain German Shepherd wouldn't have barked and scared it back into the trees.  It was a treat for both of us, but esp. Maya who had never seen one in the wild.  Hang out with "the Whisperer" long enough.. and I'll deliver :).Here are some beautiful fall pictures taken this past week.  
A red-tailed hawk hunts rodents in our meadow...
The stellar jays are gorgeous, but so noisy.  This one makes a beautiful photo with the cloud layers for a backdrop.