The owl story

I was relaxing at my sister’s home in Las Vegas. The weather was bright and sunny with a gentle breeze and a bit of a chill in the air.  I opened the sliding glass door leading to the back covered patio to get some fresh air in the house.  I  settled in for an afternoon of reading.  I heard a brief sound of movement like a whoosh of air.  There on the patio right outside the back sliding glass door was an owl sitting in the left corner a few steps outside the door.  I was looking at it and wondering if I was seeing what I thought I saw.  It was incredible.  It looked soft like I could go up to it and slide my hand over its feathers.

There are extremely few opportunities to see an owl during the day. An owl in the daytime is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s common for them to show up during times of transition in your life.  If you encounter an owl in the daytime, it says that you’re on the path to enlightenment.  It represents a new beginning where you may be starting a new phase in your life.  You need to take a moment to reflect on the past. You’ll probably discover where you’re going wrong, and this shall be your greatest hour of transformation.

It was daytime. Why did this owl pick this house and this back sliding door under a full patio roof to land at this spot no more than a yard outside the door from me?  

I can only tell you it was awesome to witness.  It sat there with its eyes closed appearing to sleep.  Owls do sleep in the day and are awake all night after all. How could it sleep sitting on the cold concrete? At times the breeze caught its feathers fanning them up and down.

I set my book aside and watched the owl.  It was kind of grayish with light feathers.  The downy head and kind of a furry ring around its neck somehow made it more real.  A couple of hours passed.  I could not think of what to do.  I decided it should fly back to a nearby park or other place which had trees.  I did not think to call a wildlife person or call my nephew who went on nature hikes all of the time.  I decided to stick my hand outside and touch it to maybe startle it into flying away.  In the end I nudged it with one of those brushes you use to sweep things into a dust pan.  I barely touched it and in an instant it spread these enormous wings and flew, well sailed really over the wall.  It never made a sound then or throughout the hours it sat outside.  I double guessed what I had done to have it fly away but feel confident it found its way back to its parliament.  

It came as no surprise when I read that it was a sign of a new passage in my life. I was living with my sister temporarily with the intention of finding a place and living in retirement there. 

I looked for a photo for a likeness to what I saw.  It was like looking through a book of mug shots.  The one I put on here is a great gray owl which is doubly rare to see.  It is close but I remember it being more white.

The wind is blowing outside my window as I write.  It takes me back to the owl’s feathers gently lifting up and down as that breeze did then.  My owl never made one sound. 

Post Script:  I looked up where owls may be in Las Vegas.  It turns out they live in Red Rock Park which was not far away from my sister’s house.