"The Owl and the Pussycat"..

The "Owl and the Pussycat" is a cute, little children's poem by Edward Lear. He wrote this way back in 1800's but it came to life here on the Bayou last evening. My sister-in-law and I were sitting out in the rose garden watching the hummingbirds that were swarming about the feeders when we heard ..hooo..hooo..hooo. An owl was around somewhere and he was close! I eased out of my chair and started scanning the treetops. It was unusual to spy an owl in the yard during the daylight hours. Granted it was slipping on into evening but it was still far from dark. The owl hooted again..softly. Ahh..this gave me a more general direction. I soon spotted the owl in the large Black Gum Tree right at the back door. I was bound and determined to get a clear picture of the Bayou visitor. This was a rare sight and I wanted to get this picture..bad! I focused the camera on the large bird but still there were leaves between us making for an unsatisfactory shot. Moving to a better position was the only option. I was afraid that this would scare the bird into flight but I had no choice. To have a clear view, I had to slip through the rose garden, down the path that meanders through the now-empty squash garden and around to the back porch. I nonchalantly started my journey. Periodically, I would take another photograph of the bird. It eyed me cautiously. I wondered just what brought this hunter to my back gardens.....

As soon as I rounded the garden gate, I saw Ms. Put, the cat, lazing on the back steps. Oh, my....I hope this owl was not planning on kitty for supper! Hooo..hooo..hooooooo! The call startled me as I was now directly beneath the owl's roosting spot. Ms. Put looked up into the tree and rolled onto her back. Was she tempting this owl? Did she think that if it attacked, she could take the bird down? I had seen this tactic used when she was luring in the blue jays but never something this large. Although there was the time that an osprey tried to catch her and she turned the tables and attacked it in midair. I put nothing past this cat! She is a wily one for sure! I eased on past the cat and to the other side of the Black Gum Tree.

On this side, I had a perfect view of the owl and could readily identify it as a Great Horned Owl. This bird could easily make Ms. Put a target for a meal. I have seen them toting large rabbits through the woods on occasion. I do know that the Great Horned Owl is one of the main predators of skunks and well...Ms. Put is black and white..hmmmm? Could the hunter be thinking my cat is its natural prey? Then again, just what is natural prey for an owl? Surely, Ms. Put would want to take refuge in the house. I tried my best to coax her inside. I was wrong..she stood her ground. She was not going anywhere! The owl kept an eye on her just as she did it. Nothing I could do would persuade her differently. After taking numerous pictures of the bird, I decided to leave things to Nature. Ms. Put would defend herself..perhaps I should worry more about the owl!

"They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon.

They danced by the light of the moon!"