My Friend the Barred Owl

It's that time of year again. The windows are open at night and I can hear the wonderful night sounds from our woods. It reminds me of sleeping in our camper in the Hoosier National Forest when I was growing up. We went to sleep the other night listening to a Barred Owl. The owl seems to like the top of a very old Sycamore tree that got broken off decades ago. We suspect a pair nests there, but have never been able to prove it. It started as a loud call right outside our window in the area of that tree. Then a couple minutes of silence. The frogs haven't come out yet this year. Then another call from a little further away around the edge of the lake. Then another pause. Then a little further around the lake. "Whoo cooks for you - Whoo cooks for you-aaaallll?" That's how you tell the Barred Owl.

This morning, when it was still very quiet, I could hear two talking back and forth. One just outside my window on the other side of the woods from the Sycamore tree, calling a shortened version of the call, and another from across the lake answering with the full call. How sweet! They finish each other's sentences. But that's how it is when you have a mate for life, isn't it? I think that is why I enjoy observing nature so much. There is so much we can learn about ourselves - the good, the bad and the ugly - from the natural environment around us.

Well, it's time to call it a night and listen for my owl again. I am looking forward to posting to this blog - I hope you enjoy it, too.