Wise Ole Owl Tale

Occasionally I hear dueling owls from my yard. It is interesting to listen to them in the evening after dark wishing I could go track them down for photographs. This evenings hoo hoo, hoo, hoohoohoo reminds me of an afternoon gardening when the sound of two Barred owls caught my attention. And yes, I did say afternoon, I looked at my watch immediately and it was just past 2pm! I was dressed in a tank top and short cut offs with dirt from head to toe. I thought, well, this is your chance. So I ran in the house, grabbed my camera and hurried across the street. My neighbor was outside and I asked permission to go through her back yard. She agreed and said owls are generally near her home. I had to make my way through the pricker bushes and across a small creek to get close enough where I could see one owl. I focused and anxiously clicked the shutter hoping the owl would remain close enough for me to get a shot. No sooner, did my camera send me a message, "Please insert memory card". Oh my gosh, I could not believe it! Well that wasn't very wise of me! The one time I actually get to photograph an owl in it's own habitat and I forgot to insert the memory card! I sadly watched the owl fly from one tree to another. I looked around to get my bearings and decided to go home and retrieve a memory card. I could only hope the owl would be in the same spot or close by when I returned. The owls had stopped communicating by this point and I never did see the second owl. So I quickly went back through the creek and pricker bushes to go home and start over on this adventure! Much to my surprise when I arrived in front of the pine tree where I last saw the owl, it was still there! Wow! I couldn't believe it, almost like it was waiting just for me. I must have taken about 20 photographs of the owl. As I approached closer I stopped in my tracks when a crow came and sat down beside the owl. The crow looked at the owl and cawed, almost to ask, "What do you think Wise Owl?" I kept right on taking photo's of the two in conversation. The crow flew on it's merry way and the owl turned to glare at me with a "You still here?" expression. I snapped one more shot knowing it could be my last before it took to the skies. I was so excited and happy, I didn't care much about my scratched up legs from prickers. My persistence and patience had paid off that day. However, word to the wise, don't ever leave your camera empty and without a memory card!