Magic of Tower Grove Park Owls

This morning while walking my dog in the park, I saw a woman looking up at a tree. As I followed her gaze I noticed she was photographing two young owls sitting on the limbs of the tree. I overheard her say to the two walkers that these were the baby owls and that she had been watching for them. This was the first time that she had seen them this year. I quickly texted Cam and continued my dog walk, not wanting to disturb their earth watching.

Just now I've returned from a walk with Cam, (he was having a rough day due to circumstances out of his control). As we walked, I suggested we check to see if the owls were still out. Crossing through Tower Grove Park with our dog, I noticed the area was filled with people looking at the sky. I told Cam- that is where the owls are sitting. As we came closer, I noticed a women taking pictures as she was hugging her partner. A pair of men sat on a bench relaxing. Walkers stopped mid step. In a dead white tree in the hollow of hole sat one owl all ruffled feathered. On the high limb butted against the tree, like a trunk appendage, sat another owl. In the V of a tree peaking between the limbs stared down another owl. As I watched the owls, the owls watched back. People kept on arriving, a men pulled up in his car. His wife had told him to stop here after work. He said that he knew the owls had lived in the trees nearby they had been seen that winter. We stared for a while. The owls stared back. It is not so often that I have such a long encounter with a wild animal. I felt happy that I was something that the owls would see on their first day in public. The man called his wife with big grin on his face. As Cam and I walked around the tree I felt tears in my eyes.

For me, the owls are a reminder that nature is magical. Their was a magic in discovering an animal by accident as a child. Their was the magic in seeing all the people stop their normal course of events to pause and celebrate or observe the owl. In mythology the owl is a symbol of wisdom, it is a guide in the darkness to listen to one's self for answers to problems. Triple that times three. I remember that all the things that I might consider important, the list of tasks for my spring break, seem less important in comparison to the first few days of the three owls. I'll take the challenge and let nature inspired my day, I think I'll use tomorrow for a period of self-reflection.