Thursday, April 17, 2014

O is for Owl

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“What was that?”   shouts came from upstairs.  

Seated at the kitchen table, I simultaneously turned to look towards the sound of the loud crash just outside.

“Oh my gosh!  Come look!’’

There sprawled across the porch was a huge barred owl.  He stayed perfectly still, his head turned, and I wondered if he was alive.   My daughter and I stared at him in delight and amazement for a while, chattering back and forth about what we should do.



“Can I go out and pet him?”

“NO! Absolutely not!  He could claw your eyes out.”

“What are we going to do?  We can’t just leave him.  I’d love to have a pet owl.” 

“I don’t know yet, what we’ll do.  I have to think.  He sure is beautiful; isn’t he?”

We were all getting ready to leave for church, but I knew that if this poor visitor didn’t take off on his own soon, I’d have to find a solution.  He still hadn’t moved, and we finally thought to take a photo.  We snapped and moved closer to the door to get a better shot. 

As I slowly moved to a different place to get a photo at a different angle, he took off, just fine.  There were a group of crows circling above that started to banter and badger him as he flew to a tall evergreen tree beside my neighbor’s house.  They had apparently been the cause of his earlier fall.  He was trying to wait long enough for them to get out of his way to fly off.

Later we found out from our neighbors that they had been seeing for a couple of weeks in the tree, which is apparently his new home.  As the weather has warmed, we hear him and his friends outside as dusk comes on and throughout the night, sometimes right outside our bedroom window.  We love having our own owl about, but wonder if we will soon sleep through his night calls or tire of them. 

Darla Sue Dollman at Compassion, Kindness, and Love  and Blessed Little Creatures has some fabulous wildlife posts.  I have so enjoyed my visits to her blog and learned a great deal in the process.  Check it out.  You won’t be disappointed.

 
A to Z Challenge

14 comments:

  1. I'm sure it was quite a surprise to have the owl fall onto your porch. I hope you will continue to enjoy your new neighbor and his night noises won't keep you up.

    TaMara
    One of AJ's AtoZ wHooligans
    Tales of a Pee Dee Mama

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    1. We haven't heard him for a few nights. I hope he is just off finding a wife and will be back soon. Thanks for visiting, TaMara. God bless, Maria

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  2. Poor guy might have crashed into a window and just knocked the wind out of himself. Amazing you got that close to take a photo. Glad he's all right now!

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    1. Yes, he was just fine. I am glad he didn't hit the window - good point. Thanks for stopping by, Alex. God bless, Maria

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  3. Nature is so intriguing and interesting and puts life into perspective.
    Thank you,
    Susan

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    1. It is interesting and beautiful. Thanks for stopping by. Oh, I just heard him out there as I am typing this. Yay! God bless, Maria

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  4. What a great story and it's awesome you were able to get a picture of it. Our deer family enjoys roaming around our school and we still enjoy seeing them around. Thanks for visiting us at Cedar Ridge Academy.
    Come also see us here at Learning at Cedar Ridge Academy

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    1. Thank you for returning the visit and for what you are doing at Cedar Ridge Acad. God bless, Maria

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  5. That's pretty amazing. I don't think I've ever seen an owl in the wild.

    Lee
    A Few Words
    An A to Z Co-host blog

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    1. It was amazing, Arlee. Quite the thrill. Thanks for stopping by. God bless, Maria

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  6. He's so cute! I love owls. We've never had one hang about the house like that, but we do have a seasonal woodpecker who likes to rest herself in our front awning. Over the years she's learned that we don't let her stay put long if she starts knocking. Perhaps your owl will figure out a happy balance with his hooting and your sleeping. Elle @ Erratic Project Junkie

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    1. I love owls too, Elle. Love to see woodpeckers too. I think my owl may already have found that balance. He was gone for a few days and popped back last night after we had begun to miss him. God bless, Maria

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  7. Thank you so much for mentioning my blogs! I love owls, too. I'm so glad he was okay. I've found it's just as hard on me to work with an injured wild animal as a pet--they mean so much to me. They are all precious gifts from God.

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    1. What can I say, I just love going over to visit your blog. I feel very at home and I always learn something. Thanks for coming by too. God bless, Maria

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