Under the Moon

Time -- 05:early. Under the beautiful waning gibbous moon, I listened as the dew literally fell from the air onto the woodland leaves. It sounded as if it were a gentle rain, but the stars were shining dimly through the thin haze overhead. In the dark with coffee mug in hand, I whistled softly the downward whinny call of the Eastern Screech-Owl. In less than a minute, I got a soft reply...then two. I stopped and the pair called back and forth for a couple of minutes, then went back to business. As I post this, a Great Horned Owl puts in his last two-cents of the night. Hope he isn't hunting up a Screech Owl morsel. By the way, the first bird song of the morning was at 05:17. What was it? A lone Northern Cardinal. Almost 6:00, now and many birds are starting up. Off to listen.