Owls and Javelina

This morning I saw two great horned owls in the palm tree in my front yard. One owl has been visiting that tree every night and calling, and calling for over a year, and now it looks like that with all his calling he has found himself a mate. It seems this palm tree is not their home, because they are somewhere else during the day, but at night, they both are setting in this tree and softly calling to each other. They blend in so well with the coloration of the tree that you have to really look to see them. Today they stayed well into the morning light and that is how I got a better look at them. However, these pictures are not ones I took. I need a better camera for that. I am hoping that if they mate and have little owlets, they will bring them to visit my tree.

 
  These owls are so big and when they fly, it is with no effort as they quietly spread their huge wings and glade off with little or no flapping of their wings. They are majestic. Below the tree are their owl pellets all wrapped up so neatly. That is what I first noticed, the pellets. They left me presents each night. When they are in their tree, all the other birds, rabbits and other creatures I usually see each morning seem to be scarce. I guess they do not want to be food for the owls. Even the humming birds are not around when the owls are.

Then later, as I was riding my bike to get my mail, I saw two javelina. A huge older momma, and a smaller baby. They were just trotting down the road in the middle of the afternoon. I guess they were lost.? They tried to cross the highway and I was nervous about them being hit by all the traffic, but they changed their minds and trotted off down the road to an open, wild area between the houses. And of course, I did not have my camera. But here is what they looked like, but the momma was huge and the baby younger and smaller.  They were so close to me and I had not realized how big they were and ugly, too. Here in the Arizona desert, there is plenty of open space still, so you would think they would not come into the housing areas. Probably looking for easy food from someone’s garbage. I looked it up and they eat mostly vegetation, but they are known to eat small animals, too.

 

These sightings of nature’s creatures give my heart a lift and help me know we are blessed to live in this world. And such a wonderful variation of beautiful, and or interesting creatures. Even the ugly javelina has their own beauty, especially the babies. Have you ever noticed how all babies, of any species, are cute? Something about babies, we cannot resist.

So I started this day with gratitude for having seen the owls with the dawn, and with awe and joy in my heart at God’s creations and then was given another great gift in seeing the javelina. How great is that?

Peace and Joy to All