The threat incident w/ Molly and the clicking sound...

Hi All!


There was a glitch in the chat room this morning but it's back to normal!

Wasn't Molly's warrior scream amazing? It's hair raising! Wesley only screamed like that 3 times:
Twice as I was trying to pull his talon out of his wing - he was older and his talon had gotten long and curled, and it embedded into his bad wing, which drooped frequently. He had fallen to the ground and was rolling around in a panic. I got him and started pulling the talon out of the wing and he screamed at me like that and bit down on my hand so his beak met in the middle of my hand and fully closed. But I had to get his talon out so I kept working and pulled it out. When it happened the second time, I had to clip his talons, which was a whole other story in and of itself!

The other time he screamed at me like that was when he discovered the Christmas tree for the first time and flew into it. After awhile I tried to get him out and he let me know he would get out of the tree when he was good and ready to!

The odd thing was that after that, he showed no interest in subsequent Christmas trees. In fact, I bought him his own Christmas tree the next year and put it in his playroom and he ignored it! Oh well.

Anyway, Molly looked out the door and seemed very concerned. Then she suddenly stood up and raced to the door. Then I heard hissing and a very distinct clicking sound. That sound is very well known to me - it's the sound of a barn owl clicking her beak as a threat. To see it is really odd, because they stick their tongues out between each click for a second, then smack their beak together. I always think they're going to bite their tongue but they never do.

Meanwhile, they're swaying back and forth w/ their head down near their feet and their wings spread out, with their feathers puffed up on their backs and wings to make themselves look as big and scary as possible. The feet are set wide so they can swing from side to side. They look kind of like the Alien monster when it's in threat mode. I've always thought they used a threatening owl as a model for that creature's body language when it goes into threat.

She probably did her no-nos too, which looks hilarious because it looks like they're dusting their toes with their nose and they're not even looking at the one they're threatening. But remember, they trust their hearing more than their eyesight and can hear even the tensing of the muscles of a nearby animal, and the increase of its heart beating.

Whatever it was, she was very serious. That's why I went on this morning and tried to ask how McGee was doing. Has he been seen since then?


Did you know that if you shaved Molly's head, it would look just like Max's head? The shape you see on the adult is all due to feathers! I love that. Underneath all those feathers lurks a pterodactyl-like creature.

And some of you have commented on the depth of her eyes. It's so true! Wes and I used to just gaze into each others' eyes for hours. He had deep, deep, inscrutable eyes that held a great depth of mystery in them.

Thank all of you who have gotten the book and who have enjoyed it and been so encouraging to me about it! I poured my heart into it, never dreaming it would become popular! When I went to some publishers with it, a few said, "Who on earth would be interested in a barn owl?" Well, who indeed? Now look at all of us! They're amazing, fascinating, emotional, sassy, individuals with a lot of heart! How can you not love them?

I am praying for McGee. I hope all is well with him!

Sincerely,
Stacey

PS: You can see pics of Wesley and the Wesley plushie on www.wesleytheowl.com
Stacey