So I'm driving along, after taking the wife out to eat nice guy that I am when... BAM! It hit me! Here we are in the little woman's mini van when somebody decides to slam into me! I wasn't speeding. I wasn't passing somebody over the double yellow line. Shame on you if you ever do that. I wasn't even driving with my brights on yet. I don't think I had the brights on anyhow. At the very same instant I notice this large "body" in the road. At just about the same moment that I was "hit" I spotted that dead body in the road. That moment is just kind of a blur now so upsetting was it. The strike came from the left side of the road. I was of course in the right lane when the collision occurred. It hit me just back from the front and in front of the drivers door. I slammed on the brakes and spun around to find who had the audacity to slam into the wife's little van. That's when I could see fully that dead body in the road.
It was a huge tasty possum playing dead. Guts out all over the place, so I assume he wasn't just playing. Then just ahead the still moving body of the critter that had hit me was still quivering. It was what appeared to be a miniature owl. I subsequently made a call to my local ornithologist for the ID. Looks like a Screech Owl alright. A really beautiful red one. She, or maybe he, we didn't take time to exchange pleasantries. When I first laid eyes on her, she was laying on her side in the middle of the lane about 35 feet past the possum. She could have been coming in for a little possum pie I suppose but we'll never know. Laying on her side with one wing wiggling, I thought she was a goner. I turned around again for a better look and fired up my flashlight mode on the cell phone. By this time she had righted herself. Quickly I blocked the road and turned on the hazard lights. The wife was afraid that without them, someone might not see me in the dark with my lights on so on came those hazards. I have rescued two other birds of prey before. A Kestrel and a young Red Tail Hawk. Capturing both dazed animals in whatever I could put together in the car and holding them for a couple hours before letting them go successfully.
All we had in the car was.. the wife's purse which she immediately volunteered, when we then found an old book bag that had a broken zipper on it. Out I went into the cold night Minnesota air with my big bald head to try to capture this dazed little beast for a very short vacation before a cat made a meal of her. I had to use my wintertime ever present hat as a scoop to move the little girl into that book bag. In just a very short moment she was in and seemingly content in that bag. That or just too dazed to make any fuss. A few minutes later and we were home. I left her rest in that book bag for about fifteen minutes to see if she could regain her bearings. My much better half ran into the house to tell the girls about our temporary treasure. They both ran out with their coats on for a possible glimpse of the royal beauty red head owl. I collected the camera, a stick to hold open the bag, and we were ready for the unveiling. There was a chance, however slim it might be that I might get a picture before she took flight. I unzipped the bag and after a short fight with the zipper, I propped it open with the specially tailored stick. The girls came around the side and began to oo and ah and the little terrified munchkin huddled in the back of the pink book bag. I began to move around to the open side of the bag hoping to get a better look at her myself before she took off when she popped out of the bag and onto the edge for a better look around.
She just sat there looking at us. Especially me I guess when she realized I was taking her picture. You know how women are about having their picture taken. I guess she wanted to give me her best side. I snapped pictures outside in the dark, with the aid of an outside light and camera flash for several minutes when just as soon as she had clamored to the edge of the bag, she was off. A gradual accent into the air and she seemed to float into the woods in front of the house. She landed in a branch out of the reach of my flash about 150 away from the house. She looks like her right eye has been injured but she was able to see a branch well enough to land on it by herself. We hope she does well and recovers from her encounter with our Mercury Mini Van. Our first Boa Ovulation yesterday and today this chance encounter with one of God's creations. It has been a great day!
Just to stay on topic. Here is a picture of yesterday's ovulation:
-----
Boaphile Home
All Original/Boaphile Plastics
The Boa Network
