So, I was actually delighted to discover this small fellow perched on the track of my patio door on Thursday.
I was, of course, confused at first. The owlet had its back to me. I saw only a small, gray, fuzzy bundle in the corner of the doorway. I thought maybe it was an incapacitated squirrel, which was not something I wanted to deal with. Then, after a moment, the owlet sloooowly swiveled its head on its neck. A moment later, its slanty, sleepy eyes widened. Whooo! Its entire face filled with enormous yellow eyes. But it did not budge even as Muzzy and I both gawked at it through the glass door.
Owlet was only as big as my two puny fists stacked on top of one another and still had pin feathers. It looked so fluffy and soft, but those eyes told another story. I let it be (except for snapping a few pix) and went about my business, putting out the trash and listening to the news. I checked in on the owlet every little while. Still there, gazing quietly out at the yard, just as Roma used to do, just feet, in fact, from where Roma took her last breath. And as I padded around the house, I felt an unexpected sense of calm. Owls, as you know, represent wisdom, watchfulness, and restrained power. They are the symbol of Athena, the only Greek deity to be born from the body of Zeus. She sprouted from his head. (Full grown, too, I think. Ouch.) So, not to get too heavy-handed about the whole thing, but I felt a little more at ease knowing that my house was under the protection of an owlet, small but fierce.
Have a good weekend, everybody.
-z
Oh! Such a beautiful little creature. I can't believe how close you were to him!
ReplyDeleteHe is great! And it looks like a baby screech owl. James and I found one a few months ago that had been hit by a car. They like to hunt bugs at night under the street lights, which makes them easily hit by cars. Just in case the little guy is hurt or something, James and I took our injured owl to Wildlife Rescue. They nurse them back to health and then release them in the same area they came from. Wildlife Rescue is actually pretty close too. It is tucked away on East MLK.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Natalie (Beau, Dixie, and Ray)
This is very good karma. I think it likes you.
ReplyDeleteLucky you!
ReplyDeleteNow you need to go make some of these http://bit.ly/9VaicV. I'll copy my pattern for you if you want!
Full grown AND in battle armor. (Just FYI)
ReplyDelete-CG #1