OMG, that was awesome!

[sholio]

I just went out to run the dogs around in the yard -- and also the cat, who likes taking walks with us, for reasons known only to him. It's dusk, and I was out at the edge of the yard when a gigantic bird swooped over my head and landed in the tree above me. I thought it was a raven, though they don't normally fly around so late, because it was about that size and there's almost nothing else flying around the woods that's so big. But when I got a good look at its silhouette in the tree, it was a great horned owl.

I know we have quite a few of them, but I've only seen one in the wild once before, and that was on a nature walk that was specifically showing us an owl's nest, which hardly seems to count. *g* But this was much, much closer -- probably only twenty feet away from me. And they move like a cat! It's so creepy! The graceful, sinuous movement of their neck and head is just like a cat's body language, especially with the flat face and the ears.

The cat, in fact, was what the owl was looking at, with a speculative and hungry sort of air. Discretion is the better part of small pet ownership, and I scooped him up to make sure that he didn't end up an owl-kebob. Cat in hand, I strolled up underneath the owl's tree to get a better look at it, until it got fed up with that and flew away. I wandered after it for a little while (still carrying the cat, since I didn't dare put him down) and got a few more good looks at it on top of a pile of gravel in the gravel pit.

The cat was most put out by all of this. When I put him down, he showed his gratitude by flinging his arms around my leg and biting me on the shin. ("Cat sovereignty - violated! You bastard!") Decided it would be a good idea to take him inside for the night ...

Comments

[tringasolitaria.livejournal.com]

When I put him down, he showed his gratitude by flinging his arms around my leg and biting me on the shin. ("Cat sovereignty - violated! You bastard!")

ROFL! I have three cats, so I know exactly what you're talking about. :)

That's very very cool about the owl. I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild before.

[sholio]

I hear them a lot, but it's so rare to see them; they fly so stealthily, and aren't generally out in the daylight. And it was so big! Very, very cool.

[jimandblair.livejournal.com]

But no letter from Hogwarts?

[sholio]

Hee! No ... it must have been mislaid. :D

[naye]

Very, very cool! And the cat didn't get eaten - yay! (Hope your leg's okay. *g*)

[sholio]

*g* Yeah, leg is fine; he didn't bite through my jeans. I think it was just a way of making sure that I don't get any ideas above my station. XD

[naye]

Eee, pretty Sheppard icon! It looks cool.

And - hee, cat. Totally appropriate cat behavior, then. *g*

[sholio]

I'm glad you like it! I've been futzing with it, trying to get it clear. It's that scene where Sheppard was sitting on the autumn-leaf-covered stairs in "Whispers" -- it's just such a pretty shot.

[naye]

I think it says a lot that I recognized it right away. (It is a very pretty shot!) Right now he looks a little blurry? But it could also be an artistic choice, so... it works! :D

[sholio]

Aargh, now I think it's too contrasty. *headdesk* Why do I suck at this so? XD I think I'm going to bed.

[altyronsmaker.livejournal.com]

I got eyeballed by a great horned owl once at college. NOT an experience I care to repeat. They're scary. Seriously. I thought he was contemplating eating me - one bite at a time.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Eeee, jealous! I've heard them a few times, calling to each other at night, but I've never seen one in the wild...

[flingslass.livejournal.com]

That's beautiful. The only birds I'll get around my house are the damn magpies! Love them as my footy team (AFL) but when they swoop you because you walk by their nest, argh! My sister has a friend who has sewn googly eyes on the back of her cap. (Apparently they won't swoop if they think you are watching them)

[bramble-rose.livejournal.com]

lol, my hubby's cat used to walk with us, but not WITH US, you know? And to see an owl of any kind is so amazing, you lucky thing!!!! I've had them fly over with that almost-silent whoosh of displaced air. Very very cool!

[tipper-green.livejournal.com]

They're never happy when you save their lives! (the cat, I mean). Very cool about the owl!

[winter-elf.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh! Owl! Yea, I would have grabbed the cat too! LOL at the show of gratitude via biting. Oh yea that's cats for you.

[sobelle.livejournal.com]

Cool!! I love the owls! I have a Great Horned Owl on the property and as I understand it, they are the top of the Owl pecking order... I've never been able to get clear pix... never enough light. But I've got lots of great pix of the Barred Owls. They are so amazing!

And gratitude from a cat? ::shakes head:: and offers some antibiotic =)

[vogelein.livejournal.com]

Ha! One of my favorite Alaska memories are the little owls that go soo-soo-soo-soo-soo all day and all night. Ironically, those'd make a better meal for Shiva than the other way around.