An Owl's Love Story and my Tree

I wanted to take a few photos of the storm damage and the American Elm that was being taken out.

I walked out into the yard to snap a few shots and this is how the garden looked...

And there she was...not our boy, Hootie...but his mate.

It's the first time we saw her...we thought Hootie had left in February...and now, the day the tree was to come down because of girdling and rot, we find a new resident.  The arborist assured us that the owl would leave once the chainsaws got going....

So, I took a seat...and waited for it all to unfold.  Everything is lovely in the garden right now...the Buckeye in full bloom and the rose, Cecile Brunner is blooming...soon to be in full sun.

Here comes the sun...

The guys started up the chainsaws and nothing happened...she stayed...and stayed...and that's actually when we realized that it wasn't Hootie.  My girlfriend Julie had taken some photos and I brought them out and sure enough...it didn't look like him...the chest flashing of white was in a different place all together and she was smaller...We began to realize that we had a mama...and she was protecting her nest!

There were times when she was clearly afraid...but she NEVER left...

Awww...

Half way through, I climbed up the ladder to get some close-ups...

No matter how close the guys got to her, she just watched...silently.

The guys whistled and sang while they worked and I think that helped her relax.

Those eyes...

This may be too many photos to tell the story, but I just can't help myself.

In the end...the chicken coop was full of wood, and you could see the hollow tunnels and nests of all the other animals that called our tree, home.

They agreed to come back after the owlets flew, leaving a lone tower for our girl...and the backyard looking bizarre and empty.

The scraggly trees in the background should fill out...I hope. 

When the sun started to dip down...a few hours after the job was done, we went out to check on her and took a seat to spend some time in the new space.  She kept looking east...and then we heard a call...

Several calls later...and here he came, our big boy...Hootie, from the east.  He landed on the arbor below and sang to her for a minute or two...

And that was when we named her Juliette...her Romeo came calling and it was so beautifully touching.

He flew up and gave her a kiss, so it seemed, and then was off.  We stayed until it was almost dark, and then she flew...I'm supposing to get some food.  In the morning she was there, but the next evening he didn't show up...we heard his song, but we didn't see him come.  The next day was the same, and then I left to go to Kansas City to be with my mom while she went through radiation.  While I was gone, Juliet left.

It takes two to raise a family.  He left her and I think she realized that she couldn't go it alone.  The rest of the tree has yet to be taken down, and we don't have another mature tree to move the box into.  Our neighborhood is full of screech owls and we love taking evening strolls to hear their haunting calls.  I'm curious to see what's been left behind, or if something else got in there and had a meal out of the eggs.  Nature is a beautiful and curious teacher.  I hope they found a new home and tried for a second clutch.

We just got home from another planned trip and need to call the guys to come on back and finish the job...as the sun gains strength, we're still so very sad and afraid of what will become of our cool, shady garden.  The squirrels have found themselves stuck in the trees that used to form a highway from the power lines to neighboring trees and I've had to rescue them by catching my wild Boston Terrorist so they could come down...but it seems like they've learned new routes by now.  And, the woodpeckers have made several holes in the tower...and I hope not made nests in there as well.

Goodbye fair tree, it will be a long time before that space will seem like ours again.  You were the biggest most loved presence in our yard for so many years, home to our tree house, tire swing, many animals and insects and you are missed...dearly.