Owl rave.

The owls are fairly going for it tonight.

There appear to be lots of them, one in the tree, one in the barn and an entire owl choir whooing from various parts of the farm.

I have seen the big white owl. She works the bottom field and enjoys sitting on a strainer post by the road. She is magnificent and can appear from nowhere, leaving you in danger of swallowing your own kidney with the 'I've Just Seen A Ghost' type of Fright.

There are smaller owls and I once found a trio of baby owls sitting on a branch quite deep in the woods. They had identical puffs of fluffy feathers and large eyes.
I did not go too near in case it caused problems for them or their mother but lodged myself behind a big shrub and drank them in to the point of complete intoxication.

If you are very lucky, it is possible to see an Eagle Owl. They are about the size of a barn door and everything disappears out of their flight path, even the kites (which are quite huge in their own right).

Every owl in Perthshire seems to have gathered here tonight and it is quite a noise. The Farmer and our son are sound asleep; they can sleep through anything and I envy their ability to doze fitfully while the owls have a rave.

I hope the owls catch plenty of fat rats.

It will be good to listen to them all when I go to bed. The bedroom window is back to being wide open again (it only got closed when the temperature was ridiculously low) so you can hear all the nocturnal scamperings and screechings outside whilst wrapped up warmly in bed.

They are strangely comforting.
I like to imagine that they are reincarnations of those who lived here before us and they guard the farm and its occupants. They keep a watchful eye over the slumbering animals and humans.

The owls are gossiping now....."Who"?...."Whoooo"?....."Ooooh"!

I am off to eavesdrop.