Screech

I cleaned and worked in my Lompico house tonight; amazing that it will be paid off in just two and a half years.  As I had my customary cup of tea, the screech owls started up in the redwoods.  I always turn every light out, so the redwoods look like black lace against an overcast gray sky.

Screech owls do not really screech; they have a staccato call (at least one of their calls is so; there is also a double trill; I heard both tonight).  I feel very lucky to have a mating pair so close to the house. 

Here is a picture of the Western screech owl, in case you haven't been to the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History to see the specimens there (yeah, taxidermied creatures...it weirds me out, too, but at least I can get an idea of what creatures live in this county).  These owls are quite cute: