One of the owls was in the backyard tonight. It was a male ~ I wonder if it was unmated or if something has happened to the female of the pair that has been around for the past few years? I hope the former.

Some folklore came to mind as I listened to the 'whoo...who who...' ~ a good many people around here (well, the older folks anyway) still believe that an owl signal impending death. When her brother died, my grandmother told me of how the night before an owl sat in the tree outside his window and it had kept him awake for most of the night. Some plains indian tribes see the owl as an omen of death as well.

I love owls. They carry the mystique of the night with them. A few years ago, I was out feeding the horses on a cold, frost laden night when that mated pair I mentioned were talking back and forth ~ one somewhere behind the house and the other across the road. It was a full moon that night too. I don't know what made me look up but when I did ~ I saw that owl that was across the road fly right over my head.