I have known for some years that there was an owl in the neighboring woods but had only seen him once, about three years ago while the grandkids were here. We were headed down the lane on our way to a walk on the beach. He was sitting directly in front of us as the lane turned to join the next lane. (Our lanes are unpaved and deep in the woods.) In 2010 we caught a photo of him while we were in a near-by preserve about 1/4 of a mile from our property.
Last week as I went barreling off the back porch to take an armful of items up to the Quilt Shed, I failed to heed my own admonition to always look before opening an outside door. One never knows what silent visitor might await.
As I stepped off the back porch, a large owl suddenly took off from the rack on the top of my van. I saw him just as he let go of the top of the van and flew up into a tall cedar. By then my momentum had taken me down into the driveway.
I stopped in my tracks and stood as still as I could. After a minute or two, to my astonishment, he actually flew one tree closer to me. He was now almost directly over the van, not more than 16 feet from me. I could see him and he could see me. We both stood rooted, turning our heads from time to time to peer at one another. I waited and waited. Would he dare to come any closer?
Finally I couldn't hold my load any longer and slowly backed up to the porch and went inside. I set the load down, grabbed my camera and stood by the glass door watching. In a minute or two he left his perch and flew across my view, headed for the cedars beyond the orchard. But alas, no photo of his flight.
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