What the WHO?

I am all for stopping to appreciate the small things. I believe I make that abundantly clear. One of my favorite things about the apartments where I live is the wide variety of wildlife I encounter. Just the other day, as we were doing our daily post-work walk, we saw an owl swoop from one set of trees and perch in another. (We presume, to scope out the squirrels that we fatten up with the nuts we toss to them as we do our laps.) Each time we passed the tree where he was sitting, I had to stop and peer up into the branches at him. He was majestic and amazing.

Until last night.

I was awakened in the wee hours by a very chatty Mr Owl. Sitting in the tree directly outside the bedroom window. And very much NOT using his nighttime voice. For a good half hour, I lay there, wide awake, listening to "Who-who-who-WHOOOO! Who-who-who-WHOOOO!"

I don't know if he finally gave up or if sleep finally overtook me, despite his chattering, but I can tell you this: At random intervals today, I have caught myself thinking "Who-who-who-WHOOOO!" much like one would be plagued by an earworm. He obviously planted that seed in my brain while I was slumbering.

I will also bet on this: No way did he catch his dinner with all that hooting and hollering. Every tasty morsel was getting plenty of warning to stay safely hidden from sight.