Owled~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES

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Observant owls prefer to watch,

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and not be seen.
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At twilight we sing, muted duets.
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They swoop close, ruffling my hair.

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Letting me know they see me clearly,
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as I go slowly blind in the deepening dusk.
Cheers to you from the all seeing owls~

234 thoughts on “Owled~”

  9. Gorgeous. Beautiful photographs of an amazing being. By the way, Resa and I need help…we don’t know how to take care of our Christmas cactus. (Mine’s pretty new)…so any help you can give us would be appreciated. I wrote to you on my blog and so did she. LOL HELP I think I just over watered it.

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    1. Place it in the sink over the drain and let cool water run through it and drain completely. Let it sit there for a few hours to drain. I do this once a week. I also water them occasionally in the shower when they are not blooming. Just put them over the drain and let cool water rain down on them. This keeps them dust free. Keep your cactus in a sunny warm spot in your house. They love being in corners with a window on each side. After the Christmas bloom is complete, I feed them with Miracle Gro houseplant food. That’s all they need and they should bloom for you more and more each year. You also can transplant them into bigger pots if they are outgrowing theirs. I do this in the spring. They are such fun plants! If you think you over watered yours, just let it drain over the sink drain. Over watering is a problem is the roots stay wet . Happy Christmas blooming my friend! <3 <3

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  14. Pingback: Owled~ — – milibro2016blog

  15. Whenever I see an owl, I am reminded about Winnie the Pooh’s quote: “Some people talk to animals. Not many listen thought. That’s the problem.” I really think you are an owl whisperer, Cindy!!! Hugs and love coming your way…

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    1. I wish I were, just like Harry Potter! I have never lived among owls until I moved to The Holler. I find them mysterious and amazing and I can count the times I’ve seen them clearly mid-day on the fingers of one hand. They will talk with me, but only as it starts to get dark. They are wonderful aren’t they. Hugs to you my dear Rebecca~🦉🦉🦉

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  17. Wow fantastic owl photos Cindy! I adore owls! Gorgeous eyes, My favorite is the one with his week open, I can imagine hearing him hoot in that photo! Hugz Lisa and Bear

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    1. Awww, you sweetheart Natalie. I am a rank amateur, never took a class and just starting taking photos around five years ago, which just shows one should always be open to trying new things~

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  34. I don’t know how you do it! Those are stunning photos of owls. I LOVE them! They are beautiful birds that I will never see in anything other than a photo so you have brought one almost to life for me. Thank you.

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    1. I can count the number of times I have clearly seen owls on the fingers of one hand and this includes the one that sits nightly on our chimney and sings with me. I can only see the murky outlines of him!

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  41. First off, I love you title so much that I’m going to endeavor to use the word “owl” as a verb from now on! 😀

    Aren’t owls gorgeous? These images bring to mind all the wonderful up-close interactions I’ve ever had, handling owls at a raptor center and so on. This one, the subject of your photography work, seems pleasantly vocal!

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    1. Your work at the raptor center would have been so interesting to me. I would be owled to be able to hold an 🦉!! They are magnificent creatures aren’t they, probably the most mysterious and hard to see bird for me which makes them all the more enticing. We understand each other. Be well my friend~

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  44. Outstanding photos, Cindy and wow, I feel as I’m right next to the owl. The feathers look so lush, like fur or a tight knit jumper. They always look so wise, knowing…as if I’ve missed something very important.

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    1. I suspect we have missed something(s) very important, and the owl would like to tell us, if only we could understand him. I feel this way about lots of wild animals, almost as if they see us clearly and have feedback for us which we can’t decipher. I would imagine fairly critical feedback too, which we certainly deserve! Wise old owl~ 🦉

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  46. Cindy, you couldn’t have known Owls are my very favorites!! Such glorious shots here — the detail in their feathers, the intelligence in their eyes, the strength in their talons. ‘Tis a true delight for me to visit here this morning and see these amazing creatures — thank you!

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    1. Your comment made my morning. 🦉’s thrill me too. They live at The Holler, and I hear them nightly, but very rarely see them, and even more rarely am I able to get a shot of one. Seeing one for me, as for you, is a big event. So nice to be understood. Cheers to you Debbie~

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  48. Great pics. Sometimes I wonder when I’m “talking” to birds, cats, etc if it’s coming out as something meaningful, pure gibberish, or if I’m insulting their parentage.

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    1. Tee hee, if it was the latter they would let you know and fly away, maybe leaving a gift in range of you! I have seen seagulls do this, purposely poop on a people who harrass them. Penguins vomit on you if they don’t like you. Aren’t you glad you getting all this icky information? I do think birds read people. Science is just beginning to understand the complexity of bird intelligence. They also respond to imitated calls, so at the very least, they might appreciate our efforts! 🦉 So keep on talking to the animals. They appreciate it (and so do I !)

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  50. As you know, I am an avid bird lover. Owls particularly fascinate me. They look like scrunched up eagles. I love their piercing eyes. I use to have a photo blog and have several pictures of owls from around the world. I have been lucky enough to hear an owl once and it was so cool. My friend went to the Florida Everglades and took a photo of two owls awake in the daytime! The photos are great. I always enjoy your comments below each one. A wonderful photo story! <3

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    1. Strange. My response to your comment disappeared. I know just what you mean about an owl looking like a “scrunched up raptor.” They do, especially in flight, they look like they have no neck with their head directly fused to their body and those wonderful flat faces. Ususally I can identify an owl in flight just at it leaves my visiual range. Sorta like, “Oh, that was an owl!” Laughing……They are my ultimate obscure object of photographic desire. I am so pleased we understand each other perfectly about the magic of 🦉’s! Have an owlishly good day my friend~

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  54. queste superbe creature qui in Italia sono considerate portafortuna, altri invece il contrario…ha ha
    io le adoro! nelle tue immagini si possono quasi toccare
    felice sera Annalisa

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    1. Sono contento che sono considerati fortunati in Italia! Intelligenti Italiani! Alcune persone non amano i gufi, ma io sono molto contento che si fa Annalisa & Saluti a voi il mio amico~ 🦉🦉

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    1. You are perceptive.. I have seen great horned owls hunt during the day two or three times. They do sometimes, especially in winter. They are formidable predators which I have only seen in nature videos and will even go after the ever present ravens~ 🦉

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            1. I am so sorry to hear this. I hope she does recover well. My mother is 89 and her sister 91. Her sister is not doing well for the first time. It’s very hard for them and hard for you too. You have my empathy and best wishes <3

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  68. Pingback: Owled~ | SUSANNE LEIST

  78. (cont.)…out on the runway at the airport here years ago and a barn owl on the farm when I was a kid, but not much since then. How did you get so close to them for such great pics? 🙂

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    1. That’s amazing that you saw a snowy owl. I hope to see one next year but honestly 🦉🦉 are the most elusive birds to really see. We have nesting pairs of great horned owls at The Holler, and they sit on our chimney at night and in our oak trees and we have serenades. But in terms of really seeing owls clearly, maybe four or five times in my life.

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  80. Chukar

    Cindy:
    You have some remarkably close and clear photos. Very nice work.
    Nicely arranged blogsite as well.
    I manage a blog for our Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society chapter; take a look if you get a chance. It’s very different than yours, but still (almost) always about birds and birding.
    If you especially like owls, you might be interested in this posting about owls in the bible:
    https://smbasblog.com/2016/10/09/dont-eat-that-bird-sunday-morning-quran-bird-study-viii/

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    1. I am now following your blog! Gorgeous and extensive catalogue and photos of so many species! Most impressive. We need some Audobon members at The Holler. I can’t keep track of all the species. I do know our county has more species of bird than any other in North America, and since The Holler is mostly unoccupied and rural we get so much variety. Very pleased to meet you & will enjoy following your blog~

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  81. At the top of my wish list is to see an owl in the wild, and of course, if I am very blessed to snap its photo. Beautiful shots. In college at the bio station where I worked, someone brought in an abandoned baby saw-whet owl for us to find a home. Since then they have held a very special place in my heart.

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    1. I feel the same way about 🦉🦉 as you do. I see them so infrequently even though they live at The Holler and call to each other from our roof and trees almost every night. I can see their silhouette’s at night. I have probably actully seen owls clearly five times in my life. They are so elusive. I can’t find their nests. Caring for a baby owl must have been fascinating. I assumed more people saw them more regularly than I do. My husband said he saw barn owls a lot growing up in Iowa.

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      1. Maybe Santa will bring me a photo op with an owl for Christmas. We voted to not care for the baby owl (more than the day we oohed and ahhed over him). He was taken to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo (Syracuse NY) where they care for baby animals. He was quite pleased when they fed him his bird of prey supper.

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  88. I love owls! Fascinating! One of my favorite activities I used to do with my students was dissecting owl pellets. They were enthralled and grossed out! It was awesome!

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    1. I took a scatolgy class in college. I loved it, except for the gathering of samples which I wasn’t so keen on, but it was fascinating detective work, similar to following animal tracks to determine behavior. You should have seen the profs lab! He had more at home too! Laughing…..

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  90. I love owls, Cindy. My grandies like their fuzzy feathers and the commercial where the male owl doesn’t listen to the female one cracks me up, Cindy! 😀
    Your photographs are fabulous! xo

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      1. Thank you, dear Cindy. <3 Cheers to you and yours for a wonderful holiday season.
        I am so thrilled my work week has finally changed to 40 hr weeks after 50 hours since April!

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          1. I spent my 3 weeks of vacation up at my Mom’s senior living apartment. Lol I at least had a few day trips with brother to beach and oldest daughter came up and we went garage sale-ing. Ha ha, it is good to still have her around and sets a precedent for my kids who drove up at Thanksgiving with an entire meal and the combination of 7 grandies to see my Mom. Driving 3 1/2 hours up is hard but they sleep all the way home. Plus we had all the grandkids in a casual photograph with her. xo

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    1. Oh yes we know each other well and I am huge fan. We almost met up when I was in his neck of the woods recently but I didn’t have enough time. I plan to though, next time I am in Tofino. He’s a great person and an amazing photographer~

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  97. I love owls. I love their solitude and watchfulness…my kitchen is filled with owls (not live ones but dishes, silver ones, feathered ones – friends and family have showered me with books of owls and scarves and notepads…..

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