Whooo Cooks for Youoooooooo?

It's an owl's night tonight. I'm not sure just what's going on out there in the growing dusk, but the evening has been alive with barred owls, from several directions, all around us, the owls are calling and calling. Their distinctive call is unmistakable and urgent, and it arouses a feeling in us that makes us want to get out and look for prey--or to do something wild!

We live in a wonderful place with a lot of deep dark pines all around, and more woods, and the owls have always found it to be a good place to be. We've seen and heard them so often that we named our home after them, Owl's Haven, a safe haven for the delightfully wise and ever so mysterious, barred owl.
According to Wikipedia: The adult is 44 cm long with a 112 cm wingspan. It has a pale face with dark rings around the eyes, a yellow beak and brown eyes. It is the only typical owl of the eastern United States which has brown eyes; all others have yellow eyes. The head is round and lacks ear tufts, a distinction from the short eared owl. The upper parts are mottled gray-brown. The underparts are light with markings; the chest is barred horizontally while the belly is streaked lengthwise. The legs and feet are covered in feathers up to the talons.

<sup>Since we so seldom see them, their chief draw for us is their calls. It's a repeated melodious call that sounds like: "Who cooks for you, (pause) Who cooks for you allllllllll?" The female, when looking for a mate, warbles the alll at the end, otherwise, it's the same call. We've been listening for that call for so many years, that we've heard lots of variations.

In early spring, there are the calls of two owls in love, who echo the calls back and forth for a while, then finally discintegrate into a wild mixed hooting, that sounds like a lust-driven melee of some sort. There are the tentative youngster hoots of confused pitch and tone, usually corrected snippily by some oldster who paces it out in precise syllables, sounding irked at "these kids today", who just can't get it right. We live in a year round concert of these magical musical singers and seldom see them, since they're so good at hiding in the dense trees around us.
A few times, we've been fortunate to share in a special moment, treasured for years and remembered as we listen to the calls. There was one time, early on, when Jim joined me here on the farm, when I happened to see an owl settle on a branch in the tree nearby. We slowly moved nearer and I pointed it out to Jim, and we stood in awe as the mighty bird looked down on us from about 20 feet away, calmly judging whether we had a right to be there or not.
Another time, in early spring, the owls were calling, looking for mates. In the rapid confusion of calls coming from two owls near our home, our grandaughter raised her head and called back to them. It called one in, who landed in a tree near our garden, and we all watched while it continued to call and the mate joined the first one, then they got acquainted, right there near us in the open. What a rare and precious opportunity.

So tonight they've been calling all around us, for hours, and we've seen one flying low over our back yard to land nearby. We're reluctant to go outside to try to spy on their activities, since it seems as though the timing may be such that there's a youngster fledging and on the ground and the adults are looking to protect her. We don't want to do anything to risk their rescue operation.
I can't get any pictures of ours here, it's too dark already, but will post some pictures found on the net of these gorgeous birds we share our home grounds with. Aren't we the luckiest people ever? Life is very good.</sup>