Owl be Darned!

 I lay in bed one morning, listening to the who-whooo of an owl. It had been calling in the early hours, and sometimes in the middle of the night for the past month. Once the noise of the nearby freeway starts up again, it's almost time to get up, and too late to look for an owl. The owl is very sensitive to the slightest noise. When I first started hearing him, it was late at night. We agreed that I would wake Terry up if I heard it, and we were going to get out of bed to pursue it. No sooner had we gone to bed, then the owl started its hooting. 

I forgot, however, that Terry takes his hearing aids out at night. By the time I yelled into his ear, "It's the owl! Get up!", it was too late. By the time we had pulled on some clothes, and sneaked out the door, there was dead silence. Finally, one night, I lifted my curtain, which is right at the head of my bed, and actually saw a shape with a great pair of wings swoop down from the trees surrounding our cabin! That decided it; I had seen my owl. We counted it for our Year List, as a Great Horned Owl.

As a bonus, a park ranger at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, TX, actually told us where we could see owls. At a grove of trees designated with orange cones, was where the Great Horned Owls hung out. High on a branch the dad peered down at us with his one open eye.

Male Great Horned Owl

The mum was on a branch in the next tall live oak tree. She was even larger. That's how it is with Great Horned Owls, the female is larger than the male!

They're both about as large as a Snowy Owl. [see blog post Jan. 2021]

Unfortunately, the baby was hiding that day, but apparently it was cute, with fluffy white feathers on each side. 

Then, the park ranger said, we could see an Eastern Screech Owl on the nest, in a wooden box attached to a tree. Police tape prevented people from getting too close. We sat down at a nearby picnic table, but we didn't see anything for several minutes as we munched on our sandwiches. Oh! There it was! Mum poked her head out of the box. Terry was able to get a picture of her as well. This species is smaller than the Great Horned,

The picture is a bit indistinct.

Eastern Screech Owl

One tuft of feathers on the bird's left is poking out of the hole. You'll have to imagine the corresponding tuft on the right side. The owl's right eye is closed, and the long piece pointing down is its beak.

We rarely have Eastern Screech Owls in Alberta, so that was a Lifer for both of us.

Enlarged version

The same weekend, our son reported seeing a Snowy Owl on Highway 21, back in Alberta.

In the Hill Country of Texas

 

As we drove home to Camp Loma de Vida after our between-projects holiday, Terry said, “I think we can consider that a very successful výlet.

Výlet is Czech/Slovak for “outing”, and we use this word in the family to refer to any adventure. This was the second time we had a week off between projects, (although we remain at the same location), and we left it rather late to plan anything. My ideas came together, however, at the last minute. One of the readers of my PresbyCan devotions, who occasionally writes devotionals herself, lives in Texas. I had highlighted her hometown, and had written her name on the edge of the Texas map in our road atlas. I boldly asked if we could meet for coffee, and she invited us to stay for a couple of days.

I didn't know she lived out in the country on an 800-acre ranch! Not a cattle ranch, but a deer hunting ranch. The winding roads to their place led through lovely rolling hills covered in bushy Mountain Cedar trees, known as “Texas Cedar”, and tall spreading live oak trees. We were invited to stay in a separate building from the main house called The Barn, so we could be more private. It really was a renovated barn.

 

As we stepped inside, it was like being in our log home, with a decidedly Western/Texas flair. We had a choice of bedrooms. I chose the one with the most cheerful patchwork quilt, and we happily settled in.

Punky explains the origins of their house, which had been originally built by Norwegians in the area in the 1800s.

It has since been added on to.

Wally

The next day Punky invited us on a tour of Clifton, the nearest town of 3,500 people. For such a small population, the Museum and Art Centre were amazing! 

This 84-year-old lady seemed to know everyone we met, and introduced us to everyone we met.

An old-fashioned classroom in the Arts Centre. I just had to take a picture of the blackboards, remembering the horrible sensation of chalk on my fingers in my early teaching days. These rooms are still used for classes today.

The town was founded by Norwegian settlers in the 1800's; the displays in the Museum were extremely well done.

 

Then there were the picturesque churches in the countryside, still unlocked as in days gone by. 

St. Olafs Kirke, built in 1886. It was restored in 2010. It's also called The Rock Church. 

Special services, weddings, and family reunions are held here.

Interior of St. Olafs Kirke

Another Lutheran church

 Lunch was a delicious soup and sandwich at a little restaurant with a Bible verse prominently displayed at the front of the cafe proclaiming the purpose of the cafe- to interact with others in a setting of delicious food.

Breaking Bread Bakery and Deli

On our last morning we bade our gracious hosts 'farewell',and drove a few miles to Meridian State Park. A beautiful, wooded path, nearly four km long, wound through the bosque (wooded area) around the little lake.

 A highlight was finally seeing an armadillo at close range! We watched him rooting around in the dead leaves for at least five minutes. My dream from ten years ago was being fulfilled. [see blog January 26, 2012]

Our next appointment was a pre-arranged visit with Nicole, who was a friend of Christopher's from the short time our children went to school in Nakusp, B.C. She's a gracious young lady living near Waco, TX now, with her husband and children, but still a Canadian. 

When we were in Slovakia, we visited her dad's cousin and his family for a few days. I remember that none of them spoke English, but we had a good time, just the same. Our visit with Nicole, after not seeing her for 30 years, was delightful as well.

Benedictus! I'm declaring my blessings once again.

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father James 1:17