HOOT HOOT

 I fondly remember a walk through the woods and discovering a great horned owlet with a broken wing. Although the owl was in my possession for only three hours, I will always remember "Hootie" and my desire to protect him and not leave him on the forest floor. 

You may have heard about the family that had an owl in their Christmas tree for over a week. The family had purchased the tree from a store about two days after Thanksgiving, and the family left their windows and doors open that night, hoping the bird would leave on its own -- but it didn't. The next day, they called the Chattahoochee Nature Center, and an employee there told them to leave the owl some raw chicken, concerned it may not have eaten in a few days.The owl was safely removed from the home the next day, was skinny and hadn't eaten in over a week. 

Hootie was taken from my arms by a wildlife rehabilitator in our area, and was later was transported to Cornell in Ithaca where his wing was repaired. After rehabilitation, I was told that Hootie made his permanent home at a zoo. As an injured owlet, he never learned survival skills to make it in the wild. Male and female owlets look alike, so for no particular reason, I decided to refer to Hootie as a "he". In the picture below, these fluffy owls look just like Hootie did when I found him.

from the internet

After the "rescue" of Hootie, co-workers gifted me with a book that I have enjoyed reading again and again. In the book, "Bubo" was a baby great horned owl that was found buried in the snow in the Vermont woods by a scientist, and he was able to get permission to keep the owl and study its development. If you can find the book, I know you will enjoy it. An Owl in the House - A Naturalist's Diary 

This is a table I set a while back using owl print fabric to make napkins and a small table runner for the table.  

The glass owl vase was filled with greens and branches, and then I added some red roses for our dinner. Whoooot loves ya Mr. Mountain Breaths! Happy Birthday to You!! 

Thank you for stopping by! We are heading to Lake Placid for a few magical days to celebrate Joe's birthday. The Mirror Lake Inn and Lake Placid are truly our "Disneyland".