“A serious writer is not to be confounded with a solemn writer. A serious writer may be a hawk or a buzzard or even a popinjay, but a solemn writer is always a bloody owl.” – Ernest Hemingway.
This is Gandolf, a great horned owl that my son, Lewis, and I discovered on the side of a road on the Texas Gulf Coast. He was in shock, probably after being struck by a passing vehicle, my son and I suspected. We got him to a wildlife rehabilitator, who dubbed him Gandolf. Three weeks later he was well and released back into the wild. — Photo by Pat Bean.
A Great Horned Owl, That’s Who
I’m not sure I understand Hemingway’s words. But they’re fun to ponder.
I made this card for a grandson’s graduation. I guess I have owls on the brain, but they tickle my fancy.
Just as it’s been fun to ponder the great horned owl, whose hooting has been taunting me awake each morning, and serenading me to sleep each night, for the past two weeks.
The hooter has annoyingly been avoiding my sight, but I finally caught a glimpse of it two days ago from my third-floor balcony window. The owl was sitting, just above my eye level, in a tree about 30 feet away.
Then, early yesterday morning, as I was once again looking for the owner of the hoots coming from the trees, a great horned owl flew directly over my head, wings stretched out like a sheltering canvas. It was big, and it landed on the roof top of an adjacent apartment building.
And this is one of my great horned owl doodles. I did it from memory after the Gandolf incident.
Pepper, whom I was walking at the time, and I wandered closer, and the owl briefly looked down on us with its great golden eyes. I was mesmerized, but glad that my canine companion was standing close. This was a mighty big owl, much larger, I realized than the one that I had seen a few days before from my balcony.
A surge of joy, like a big yippee, went through my bones. I suspected my apartment complex was now home to a mating pair of owls. The one I was looking at had to be the female, who is always larger than her male mate.
The big owl didn’t linger, but quickly disappeared beyond the roof line, leaving me pondering where her nest was, and did it already contain eggs. I’m sure I’ll be looking for it every time Pepper and I go walking during February.
The Wondering-Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.
Bean’s Pat: Texas Tweeties http://tinyurl.com/mgovo9e Bringing home dinner. Bob’s one of my favorite bloggers. I’ve been privileged to see an osprey spring from the Snake River, and from a couple of lakes, with a fish in its talons, but it’s a sight worth seeing over and over again.
Pat Bean's blog 
Great story, love the Owls!
Thanks eGeorge
Wonderful post, Pat. I especially love it because I used to collect owls and when the time came to declutter my house, some of them had to go. I saved my favorites, though, one of which is a bronze-looking plaster cast of a great horned owl, nearly two feet tall, that sits atop the bookshelf that houses my Encylcopedia Britannica.set. The books don’t get used much any more in this day of digital searches but I think it makes a statement. *G* And I love owls. They’re associated with the Greek Athena, the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill, all of which I admire and/or aspire to.
My brother who died too young collected owls. I have one of his that I treasure. Thanks for commenting my wise Sam. Oh, I just associated your name with Samwise. What fun.
You mention Samwise and I have to tell you that I did some research on him, actually mentioned him to fairly great extent in something I wrote some time ago. I’ve never been able to get into reading the Ring stories though the films have been fascinating. I’ve really loved researching various characters and Tolkien himself. I gotta tell you that when I saw LOTR I was more taken by Samwise than by Frodo Seems I was onto something since Tolkien himself said that Sam was really the hero of the story even though it mostly appears that Frodo is the main protagonist. I love that you’ve sort of put me into that characterization.
Frodo was always falling down. Samwise was my hero. I read Tolkien’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings way back in the 1970s. Couldn’t put the books down until I finished them. And I think Jackson did a great job in capturing the spirits of the book.
Oh my, this beautiful creature was so lucky that you found him and rescued him. He does look quite stunned.
Thanks Bella. It felt really good when we heard Gandolf had made it back to the wild.
We’ve had three nestings of Great Horned Owls in my backyard. The first pair was killed during their 3rd year mating dance – struck by a vehicle. My big tough son cried like a baby when he came across them on the roadside. We watched one baby jump from the nest – 30′ up in a palm tree. We watched him grow until he left for his summer home in the nearby mountains. I absolutely loved hearing them hoot back and forth. Always made me smile and just feel good inside, no matter how crappy my day had been. They have a special place in my heart.
Wow. What a treasure to have nesting great horns so close, even with the pain the memories remain. Thanks for commenting AZ,
Wow, 2 great owl stories – first Gandolf, and good on you and your son for rescuing him and getting him into the proper hands for rehabilitation and release, and then the story of your neighborhood pair! I haven’t had much luck in sighting owls, I occasionally hear them, but rarely, if ever, spot them.
I hope owls are in your near future Alex. Thanks for commenting.
What a great rescue for the owl. Your images and art are a nice theme.