Guess whooooo we heard last night...

At the unhoooly hour of ten o'clock last night, Child Number Two came bursting into my bedroom (where I had retreated to "peacefully" attempt to read a book. Okay, a knitting pattern. I don't have enough time for reading entire books these days.)

She leapt onto my bed, brushed my reading material to one side, and in one fell swoop, landed squarely in my lap. Her arms curled 'round my neck and tightened strangulatingly, as she screeched something into my ear about "NOISEOUTSIDE! MONSTERSMAYBE! SOUNDEDLIKEASCARYSHOWONTV!!!!!!!!!"

Now, my bedroom is just across the hall from hers at the front of our house, and I was able to assure her that I, myself, had heard no such sound. When I had finally calmed her down enough, and smoothed the panicky perspiration from her brow, I asked exactly what the sound had been like.

Child Number Two: It went like this.... (arching her eyebrows right up to her hairline) Hoooo, hoo-hooo.... HOOOOOOO, OOOOOOO"

I had to laugh.... because the expression on her face made her look like a pale-faced, spitting-image of The Count on "The Hilarious House of Frightenstein".

But, then I stopped. A lightbulb suddenly went "on" in my tired, old brain.

Because the rhythm of the sounds she was making suddenly rang a bell.

"Hooo, hoo-hooo.... HOOOOOOO, OOOOOO"

"Whooo's awake? MEEEEEE, TOOOOO"

That? Is the call of the Great Horned Owl.

Yes, indeed, it is.

It would appear that all my efforts at bird-call memorization are beginning to pay off at last.

I grabbed my bathrobe, pelted (as quietly as possible) down the stairs and straight out the front door of our house, with my two eldest children in hot pursuit. We settled ourselves on the front step, and listened to this beautiful sound:

I have yet to actually set eyes on our beautiful, elusive Great Horned Owl... but I certainly hope he'll be in our neck of the woods again tonight. Because I've decided I'm going to sally out for a little late-night stroll. And if my new feathered friend cares to ask me:

"Whoooo's awake?"

I plan on answering:

"Meeee, tooooo!"