Clouds, Crows and The Owl
written by: Sue Marie St. Lee
The searing summer sun is hidden behind thick clouds on this hot and humid morning. Those clouds, infrequent visitors this time of year, inspire and energize me. I welcome them like a long lost friend. Their shades of grey and blue cast new hues upon our foliage with each passing breeze.
I look up and find myself pulled back to a childhood memory as I watch clouds of dragons, dogs, and squirrels morph into monsters with crone-like faces. Lost in my thoughts, I am called back to reality by the cawing of crows. I know their warning call, I watch and wonder at which predator they might be chasing.
The mystery is solved as a great horned owl lands upon the oak tree only feet away from me. We make eye contact and I am mesmerized with its beauty. The crows are not mesmerized. They swoop and scream around the majestic owl who pays no attention to them.
Our eyes, still locked, communicating in an ethereal way until something on the ground shifts his sight and he swoops downward. In silent non-stop flight, he captures a snake and flies off to the woods behind our home. It will be a good day for both, the Owl and I.
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