We’ve had this wonderful drawing by Jules up on our fridge for the past week or so.
On Christmas Day in 1858, Thoreau wrote:
I hear an owl hoot. How glad I am to hear him rather than the most eloquent man of the age.
I did not hear any hooting this morning, only the maddening mobbing of blue jays, who were not only mobbing Coconut’s box, but the side of the house.
I went looking for an owl in one of the trees along our driveway. Didn’t see one. Eventually the blue jays flew off.
Later, I went out to get fireplace tools from the shed. I looked up and saw… ANOTHER owl in our extra owl box that I have hung up to try to keep squirrels out of the other one.
And just like that… a two-owl Christmas!
It’s been almost two years since we first spotted an owl in our backyard, and I’ve learned yet another lesson from the owls: What seems like a nuisance, if paid attention to, can actually be a great gift. If you know how to read it, the noise can point you to the signal…