We had the neatest surprise on Saturday...I looked up in our grape vine covered in the new snow and there sat this little owl. He was only about 12" long, so according to my "Sibley bird guide," what we thought was a Screech owl was more probably a Pygmy owl. He spent the entire day with us napping under the snow covered vine. At about 6:30 p.m., just after sunset, he hopped out to an outer branch and flew away. More than likely the snow had covered the opening to his home so we were a substitute for 12 hours.
I swear, that grape vine brings in more animals. It is a jungle-gym for squirrels, opossums and raccoons, a diner for birds and now it has also served as a roost. Hope your Valentine's Day was as special!!
Off to mix clay and get some sculpting done. I just remembered yesterday that February only has 28 days this year, which shortens the time to get the sculpting and painting done before the next deadline here in the studio. Oh boy!!!
Have a great day and happy creating!
Laurie
I swear, that grape vine brings in more animals. It is a jungle-gym for squirrels, opossums and raccoons, a diner for birds and now it has also served as a roost. Hope your Valentine's Day was as special!!
AWWWW...I just LOVE owls...how sweet!! Ty for sharing :)
ReplyDeletePoor little guy!!!! Makes you wonder how these creatures survive the cold winter months?
ReplyDeleteblessings,Flora
COOL owl...too FUN!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week lady! :-)
Chris
Wow, that is SO COOL! I love owls but only ever get to hear them.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to have found your blog Laurie! I have had a wonderful time looking at all your magical pieces! I would like to list you on my blog roll on my Halloween blog, A Nostalgic Halloween.
ReplyDeleteWill be checking back often! - Kris
Thanks for the picture and posting, owls are cool! :)
ReplyDeleteLaurie ,
ReplyDeleteMade me think of memory when my children were very little. We had come off the back porch in Northern Pennsylvania. Across the walkway hung some branches and there sat a pygmy owl....We were awed and he just looked at us like we were crazy. My brother in law and I ran inside to find the bird book field guides my mom in law had. ff we ran and that owl looked like ok hurry up. We found it and was shocked just then he flew off. Best experience ever besides seeing a actual sea turtle lay her eggs on the beach in NC.
Thank you for that memory and happy owl spotting to you.
Smiles,
Sonia
How lucky for that little Owl and all the other critters that frequent your Grapevine!..That poor lil guy was probably glad for a place to roost for awhile :)
ReplyDeleteCandy
Hi Laurie!
ReplyDeleteEvery now and then when I drive down Wildcat Road at night (the perfect name for the road near us that borders the woods), a big old screech owl will fly across from one side of the road to the other. Always a lovely surprise to see one. Your little guy was adorable!
Hi ya Laurie!
ReplyDeleteI had a GREAT birthday week celebration and I'm still recovering! LOL '-)
Glad you are having a productive start to your week in the clay.
Have a great week!
Chris (-:
Laurie,
ReplyDeleteThat is neat. We have them out here and they are noisy things. My gosh kinda whoooo- scarey when ya see the moon, fog and hear that! makes your hair stand straight up!LOL
Love birds though, got that from daddy. Yep, that short month stuff is crazy and has me spooked too. Got to get busyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
Have a great week my new cyber friend.
Hugs,Pea
Cool! We hardly ever see owls around here. Glad you got a picture to share.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lil' sweetheart!!
ReplyDeleteWe had a screech owl in our barn once. He definitely lived up to his name. He was a lil' bit of a thing just about knee high to a grasshopper. :> )
But man did he have a set of lungs on him! He was so adorable!
~Karin
Diana,
ReplyDeleteIt was a great surprise!!
Flora,
I know what you mean about worrying how they survive...we had such a snow covering I wondered what he would find to eat that night when he left.
Chris,
I thought a Halloween spirit sent him to me!! HA!
Jen,
No one was more shocked than me when I discovered him when the blinds were opened. I actually had to convince myself it was an owl when I first spotted it.
Kris,
Oh please do give me a link and I will reciprocate!!
Caroline,
Hi Caroline...so glad you stopped by!!
Sonia,
We have a Great Horned Owl at the cemetary about 5 blocks from our house and we see it in the evenings when we take our walks. It ignores the hawk that hunts in the same area and we have actually witnessed the hawk challenging the owl. The owl literally turns his head away from the hawk almost as an insult to the hawk. Nature, isn't it grand!!
Candy,
We have a lily pond as well in the backyard so not only do we have a grapevine playground for the little critters, we also provide a source of water. I don't mind until they start killing my fish!!
Pam,
Owls are so cool! Kelly had one almost hit him in the face at the tree farm this past year. He was trimming trees and the owl was hunting (there are day and night hunting owls we have found out). Luckily the owl made a quick turn. They are so silent when they fly Kelly didn't hear it coming and said he literally just stopped what he was doing to catch his breath from the surprise. Now that is up close and personal!!
Hi again Chris!!!!
Pea,
I don't mind the hooting, screeching of an owl...it seems musical to me and I love spring because the birds start returning and the yard fills with activity. Bird lover here too!!
Lance,
Oh how sad...shall I see if I can find you an owl that wants to fly south for the rest of the winter?
Karin,
Uncle Les use to have owls in his old barn on his farm. I remember he came and got me to watch them peek out just before getting ready to take flight. I had forgotten all about that until you mentioned the barn. I was just a little squirt and thought it was so cool!!
Thank you all and sorry I was tardy with responding. We have had a modem glitch again this week in the evenings. We had it checked and it worked for a while and has started acting up again. :(
Oh my goodness..how sweet..I love owl and what a beautiful picture this is. I've always wanted a grapevine covered trellis..I bet it's wonderful. This really made me smile.
ReplyDelete:)Doreen
Hi Laurie -- Enjoyed your owl story.. We've invited a variety of birds too, with some kind of vine that yields berries in the fall. No owls yet, though. Maybe a Halloween spirit Did send him your way!
ReplyDelete:) :)
Brenda