Rainy Day Owl #1

owl as a prompt

brings joy to my morning and

dispels stormy clouds

Daily Haiku Prompt: owl

Rainy Day Women #12 & 35, Bob Dylan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm-po_FUmvM   

Writing with Tarot Card Prompts

Talking with my critique partner about Tarot cards reminded me that some writers use Tarot cards for plotting and characterization.

My muse has been sleeping on the job.

Can I reawaken her by using Tarot cards?

Tarot Cards for Creative Writing is a blog post by Whitney Hill, which gives examples of using Tarot cards for writing prompts.

https://whitneyhillwrites.com/writing-updates/tarot-cards-for-creative-writing/

Of course, that made me look for an owl Tarot deck!            

TAROT OF THE OWLS 

written by Pamela Chen, art by Elisabeth Alba

contains an easy to understand guidebook for beginners and a deck with delightful, imaginative owl art. 

I glanced at the guidebook last night and haven't even tried the deck yet. 

But, much to my surprise, this morning writing ideas came flying in. 

My moose muse has returned!

Winter: a tanka and a haiku

Winter Tanka

owls love winter:

long nights for hunting rodents

under pale moonlight

in the heart of darkness owls

begin their courtship dance

Winter Haiku

Echo liked winter 

pushed his nose into the snow

coldness brought delight

 

Daily Haiku Prompt: rain

 Rain

owls don't like the rain

it makes their feathers soggy--

dinner will be late

Supportive

 

"Why do I buy more

owls?" I ask and he replies,

"For more-owl support."

Here's Hooting at You: 2024 Owl Cam Highlights

 Here's Hooting at You, Athena!

Owl's well at the Cornell Lab's Great Horned Owl Cam. Take a peek at Athena and her brood of 2024.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKOZvHLeqb0

 

Athena raises a duo of owlets at the Lady Bird Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. 

Dog and Owlet Are Best Friends

Found this You Tube video about Ingo, a Belgian Shepherd, who was best friends with an abandoned owlet, Poldi.

Beautifully photographed by Tanja Brandt, a German wildlife photographer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYNqgF3r6rc

 

Wordless Wednesday: Snowflakes Keep Falling on My Head

Wordless Wednesday: Glass Owl

My birthday present from M, 

bought in Corning, NY

Corning Vacation

We just returned from a week in Corning, New York.

Corning is in the Finger Lakes district of southern New York, a half-hour away from Watkins Glen (famous for race cars and a gorge with waterfalls) and about an hour south of Rochester.

We discovered Corning in 1982, driving home from Florida. Although we only stayed overnight that time, we have been back many times since. Its main attraction is the Corning Museum of Glass.

Steuben Tower

We took the tour, saw the current exhibits, and especially liked the modern and the art deco glass.

Corning and I have a long, happy history. Because I discovered it in 1982, and bought a piece of

Steuben Glass for a relative's wedding present, I was put on the Steuben mailing list. In that way, I found out about a Toronto exhibit of one of the Steuben designers, James Houston. 

And that lead to my writing and publishing a profile of James Houston for enRoute magazine! 

 Cityscape

After a hurricane and flood in 1972, the city revitalized its Victorian-era buildings on

Market Street. Visiting Market Street is like stepping back in time, with the old-fashioned facades and the quaint signs. There are lots of antique stores and, of course, plenty of places to buy glass items.

 Vitrix Glass

My favourite store has an owl on its gable! I've named him Rocky after the Rockwell Museum.

  Rocky the Owl - click to enlarge picture

 

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: One Of a Kind

owl telephone holder

 

 

 

 



 

owl linen tea towel (somewhat crumpled)

 

 

 

 

art deco vase

 

 

 

I bought the first two items a week ago at the One-Of-A-Kind Craft Show.

 

I bought the art deco vase (my favourite) at an antiques sale, probably in the 80s.

 



BBC The Natural World: Return of the Eagle Owl

Stunning video of the BBC programme, The Natural World: Return of the Eagle Owl.

48 minutes long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z3AlMatF8Y

Wordless Thursday

two new Delft owls for my desk

 

* original owl on book, bought in 1993

Eagle Owl in flight

Using a high-speed camera, the photographer captures the beauty of the eagle owl's feathers and the power of its talons.

Wordless Wednesday on January 9

Snowy owls fly south in search of food

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=06cdda3b-37d4-4f90-829e-9bdb11d193bf

owlet enjoys tickling

Video of an owlet enjoying being tickled

http://www.wimp.com/owltickled/

What a hoot!

Today I received a wonderful package
delivered by Owl Mail.

Children's writer and illustrator,
Liz Jones,
designed these owl shoes for me.
http://lizjonesbooks.livejournal.com/

Thanks, Liz!

For details on how to get your own personalized shoes, contact Liz.

Eagle Owl Becomes Surrogate Mother

An Eagle Owl named Flea was feeling motherly but wasn't able to mate with another owl. She then became a model surrogate mother to some chicks.

News story from Der Spiegel Online.

Rare sighting of a great grey owl...

...in a town in southern Ontario. The great grey normally is found much further north.

Here's a link to an article in The Toronto Star about it, complete with photos and a video:
http://www.thestar.com/article/1114780--great-grey-owl-ruffles-feathers-in-kingsville-ont