From Out of Nowhere

I've seen a ton of critters over the four plus years I've been walking on my beloved trail, first with J.R. and now with Oliver ... two little wiener dogs who've trotted faithfully by my side through thick and thin ... seriously ... through thick and thin. But back to the critters ... fox, geese, muskrats, deer, hawks, fish, bobcats, frogs, snakes, beaver ... I've see a ton of critters out on the trail. But I've never seen anything like what I saw tonight ... never in my whole entire life have I seen what I saw tonight.

I was deep in thought as I walked this evening, head down, eyes glued to the pavement beneath my feet ... and when I say deep in thought, I do indeed mean deep, deep, deep in thought. Which is why when Ollie stopped in his tracks right in front of me, I stumbled and came dangerously close to doing a face-plant onto the asphalt. When I was finally able to regain my balance, I noticed that Ollie still had not moved and the fur on his back was standing straight up. I looked up to see what had caught his attention, thinking it was probably a big dog ... Ollie has little dog syndrome oozing out of his tiny wiener dog body, and he thinks he can take on any big dog he sees. It wasn't a dog ... it was an owl ... a big owl ... a huge owl sitting right in the middle of the trail with a squirming mouse in its beak. 

I quietly leaned over and lifted my by then growling Oliver into my arms ... heck yes, I was scared ... the biggest owl in the history of the universe was perched on the trail in front of me with a live mouse hanging out of its mouth ... of course I was flipping, sticking, shaking all over scared. I didn't know what to do ... I've never had an owl with its dinner in its mouth block my way  on the path before ... so I just stood there with my hand clamped over Ollie's snout as I whispered, "No barking, Ollie, no barking ... please no barking." Thank goodness, he actually listened to me and didn't bark ... but he did whine, and he whined so loudly that the owl stood up, got a running start, extended its enormous wings and lifted into the air with ease and grace.

It would be nice if that were the end of the story ... but it's not. Remember the mouse the owl had in its mouth? Well ... part of Mr. Mouse came out of Mr. Eagle's mouth as he took off and it hit with a splat on the trail in front of me and Ollie ... and it was disgustingly gross. I was gagging as Ollie tried his best to get out of my arms ... there was no way on earth I was letting him escape until we were well beyond what was left of poor Mr. Mouse. 

I'm sure there's some reason and some inspirational lesson as to why Ollie and I met up with Mr. Owl and Mr. Mouse tonight ... maybe it's to remind me that we all run into the biggest owl in the history of the universe at some point on the journey of life, and that it's up to us to figure out how to get around it. Maybe it's to remind me that there are times when I need to be still and just wait it out. Maybe it's to remind me that it's a heck of a lot better to be the owl than the mouse. Maybe I'm dead bone tired tonight and it means nothing ... but then again ... maybe it means a whole, whole, whole lot more than I know. Maybe it does indeed.