Owls

 

Last Saturnday morning, I was taking the kitchen compost out to the bin and I kept hearing owls. I've heard them before but never really investigated further. This time they were loud and clear. I glanced up into the tall thicket of hackberry trees behind our garage and there they were perched on a high branch. We were getting ready to go to Huntsville so I didn't have time to get a proper photo. I grabbed my camera and took this shot which is still dark even after considerable lightening in Photoshop.

Last fall, I was at work and Michael was home. He had raised the windows because it was cool outside. He was sewing and said that he kept hearing voices outside the dining room window. It sounded as though people were having a conversation. This isn't that unusual because there is a dentist's office right across the street and people are often talking out in the parking lot. He kept hearing the voices and it sounded as though they were outside the window in the garden. He peeked out the window and a pair of owls were sitting in the Yoshino cherry tree, apparently carrying on a conversation. 

I don't know that much about owls and don't really know if it is a good thing to have them in your garden but so far I don't have any complaints. I've heard stories about them snatching pets but our two outside cats seem to be fine. It is always exciting to find a new animal or bird in the garden!

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy