Wednesday, September 05, 2012

A hooting good time

It was mid August. August 15th, to be exact.

And it was past midnight.

We were watching TV, the windows open wide, for the day had been hot and we wanted to catch the cool night air.

I heard laughter and shouting in the distance.

Every summer young people often gather and party in the big park a few blocks away.

"Party animals." We smiled, glad we didn't live across the street from the park, that we were buffered by a thick green zone of tall spruces and cedars.

The sounds continued, louder hooting and hollering. "Wild party animals."

My daughter-in-law came up from the basement, smiling.

"Do you hear that noise? I think it's owls mating."

We went on the deck and listened.

It was party animals all right. The very wild kind. The owl kind, making noises we had never heard before. Much louder than the usual hoo hoo, an almost sweet lonesome sound we hear every night.

No. This was series of intensifying hoo hoo's leading up to a crescendo, ending with what sounded like laughter.

I did some research and found this:





Explains it all: owls being owls, territorial huffing and puffing.

It was a wee bit more interesting when we thought they were partying, Hefner style.


But neat nonetheless.

– Cat