Horned Owls
by Frank Keim
Some said it was a tragedy
when their nest in the thick branch
of the sycamore tree near the library
went down
in the fierce winds
and their eggs spilled on the ground
and broke,
and killed the still unborn owls inside...
But it wasn't.
Because in Nature there are no tragedies.
Somehow, though, the neighborhood has changed...
it's quieter, especially in the evening dusk
after the sun has dropped behind the mountains
and the stars begin to twinkle....
Not long ago,
the big owls hooted back and forth,
like they did every year in late winter,
preparing to nest and raise a family
of little owls with their furry feathers
who would pop their heads out of the hollow limb
and open their wide beaks
for food from mom and dad -
maybe a mouse or rabbit,
or quail caught resting at night
in a low bush
unaware of its phantom nemesis
approaching,
silent wings outstretched,
stiletto talons poised for the kill -
another meal for hungry owlets
waiting inside the limb that is no more.
But the other night I heard promising sounds,
(and I heard them again tonight)
from somewhere up the creek,
like the owls might try hooting back and forth,
for another family,
like maybe they found an empty bowl
in a branch of a tree just the right size
for two new eggs
and two new fuzzy-feathered baby owls
to one day pop their bug-eyed round heads
out of their crowded cranny
for the first time,
wondering what that noise was
just below them in the creek,
of purling water,
precious desert water
that would feed the animals
that would feed the owlets
so they may live to perch on their branch,
spread their fluffy gray wings,
and finally fly for the first time,
fly free like they should,
free to stalk and chase and catch their wild prey
as they have for eons in the past
[Images by Helen Snyder]
and will for eons into the future.
I hope.
April, 2016
(beside Cave Creek)
Portal, Arizona
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The venerable old great Horned Owl nest tree at the library cracked in two right at the owl's nest in today's windstorm, spilling the two eggs that were ready to hatch onto the ground. The nest had been in use since at least 1988. Debb Johnson reported seeing the female sitting on the log later, then watched her fly off, apparently unharmed. Helen Snyder
Elf Owl
Western Bluebirds by Sarah Thomson
