Fauna Friday: Tawny owls

Oh heck. Thursday night again and I haven't given this week's Fauna Friday a single thought. That was last night when I was seeing to the ponies in the dark at about 9.30 and I hadn't yet fed the neighbour's cat or myself. What will I write about? Then 'Squeeeeak! Squeeeeeak! Woo hoo hoo hoooooo!' shrieked out from the nearby ash tree. 'Tawny owls! There's my answer!'

It isn't that the tawny owl goes 'To wit to woo'.No owl does that. The female owl goes 'Kee wik' and the male goes 'Woo hoo hooooo!' So to wit and to woo are two different sounds. The tawny owl likes woodland and farmland, which is typical of round here, where we have open upland farmland with a steep oak covered gorge below us only a few hundred yards away.  It hunts mainly rodents and that is one major reason why I keep Ludo in at night - to leave some voles for the tawny owls and barn owls.

Oh dear. I haven't looked at this blog all week. Sorry, I will read and respond to any comments soon. I've just been very, very busy. Actually one thing that has occupied my mind for 5 days is that I very nearly had a big show-down with somebody on Monday. I felt I was being humiliated and bullied in front of other people so I had to stand there and choose whether to have it out with him in an undignified fashion in front of a roomful of people or to just shut up. I chose the latter but I stared him out. I just gave him daggers and didn't respond to anything he said and finally he shut up. One nil to me. I don't think he is used to anybody squaring up to him and winning. I've felt quite upset about it all week though and it has pretty much taken me over, night and day, since then.