Eternal Love

I worked on my painting today and finally worked on Arvin's hands with mine beneath. The painting is still in the middle but I plan to display it at the Celebration of Life for Arvin on Sunday. I have three paintings I've done of him and I'm going to display all three. Seems like a good way to blend my love of him with my love of painting.

After open studio I did a couple of errands and then headed home. It was a gorgeous day so I decided to take a walk into the park. Of course I was looking for the owl family and was rewarded with a magical encounter with the babies and a visit from an unexpected guest. I have posted the photos I took on Chaikins of Bellingham. 

I spent at least half an hour bobbing my head and moving closer to where I found the two babies in a tree. I found them by sound. One of them was calling for dinner and once you've heard that call you can't miss it. So I left the trail and made my way about 20 meters into the woods. There they were. I bobbed at them and they bobbed back. I moved and took photos seeking the best angle. Those birds seemed quite happy to pose for me and I got some really good shots. They did not seem nervous about me at all and I was able to get quite close.

While I was leaning against a tree, relaxing, taking in the beauty of the scene and taking an occasional photo, I heard a sound. There was a young buck enjoying the summer greenery. At one point he passed right behind me. I was so absorbed in what I was doing I didn't realize he was there until I heard his noise. It was magical.

A couple of times as an experiment I played the adult Barred Owl hoot on my cell phone from my iBird app. The babies seemed mildly interested, not very excited. But the second time I did it, the larger owl came swooping through and off into a different part of the woods. My guess is he was just checking to see who was talking to his kids. When he saw it was me off he went. I didn't see where he went so that was the last I saw of him. The whole experience was a delight and I walked home with a smile on my face.

I want to thank all of you who commented on yesterday's blip of the adult owl. Thank you for your hearts and stars as well. And thanks for checking in to my journal. You are the best!