I found a tree with cherry blossoms today.
Victoria still hasn’t seen a single snowflake. Last night, while Yann and I were outside for our evening toke, feathers snowed on us. Right before that happened, Yann heard a noise and spotted an owl that had perched on the power lines. What about owls’ reputation for being silent predators of the night? The sounds were coming from its latest meal, which was still alive.
When they moved into a tree across the street, the owl started tearing apart the bird. According to Yann, this was a noisy process. After 10 minutes of witnessing mealtime, Yann suggested heading back inside.
“What could be more interesting than this?” I pointed out.
I ended up going back inside, only to grab my binoculars. A couple who passed us only cared to stop and watch for a few seconds before carrying on. They soon returned with binoculars.
It was a barred owl. It had the honour of being the first owl Yann had ever seen in the wild. I had seen a pygmy owl earler in the year in Patagonia. Before that, I had seen another barred owl on Salt Spring Island, but that’s pretty much my owl sighting history.
Last week, when on the ferry from Vancouver, I saw a pod of orcas from a distance! It had been years since the first and only other time I had seen wild orcas.
Also, I see deer casually munch on the curbside grass every other week.
That’s Vancouver Island! But, I won’t be spending much time observing wildlife over the next few days as I’ll be working on the project of the year. If you know me, you can probably guess what I’m making. And, if you don’t know me, you are missing out!
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