My Great Horned Owl Adventure

Early this spring, the Covid-19 arrived in the U.S. and we didn't know what the future would look like. On March 13th, Denver Public Schools sent me home for an unknown amount of time of working remotely.  I took my desk plant, my papers, and my computer, and said goodbye to my co-workers.

Stores shut down. The libraries closed. (I forsaw a library closure and went on Saturday, March 14th and grabbed 4 huge novels...to get me through the shutdown, I thought. Shows how little we knew about what the shutdown would be like.) Every event was cancelled. Everything screeched to a halt.  We didn't leave our houses. People rushed to the stores to get essentials, not knowing how long we would be in our homes, or if indeed, the grocery stores might close down, the supply chains break, or the world itself come to an end. Nobody knew what the next day would be bring. We started sewing masks, wearing pajamas all day, and people with kids at home started thinking about how much teachers are really worth to them.

The beginning, in March and April, was especially scary and nerve wracking. But for me, as a healthy person, who didn't lose her job, and wasn't stuck in a house with young children, there were several benefits to the stay-at-home orders.

The biggest benefit for me was no more commute. Working downtown, I typically spend about 35 minutes to get to work, and 45-55 to get home. Not to mention time in the morning to shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast, none of which I had to do before starting work anymore.

So I started taking long walks. I moved to my condo a year ago, and I live right on the Highline canal. In April, I made a goal to average 7,000 steps a day.

In late April, I discovered a Great Horned Owl in a tree that's about a 10-minute walk down the canal from my house! It was so cool, and it was always there!! Every time I took a walk, I checked, and he was always there.

April 30th. My Great Horned Owl

Right at the end of April, I learned about a Great Horned Owl nest in Fairmount cemetery and went there several times to check it out. I told one of the other bird watchers about my owl and he said if the owl is always camped out in the same tree, there is a nest nearby, and a mate. wwhhhhaaaattt!!? Mind blown.

On May 1st, we really got to know each other.

I went out on May 8th and stood under my owl and looked around with my binoculars, and quite quickly, I found the nest!! It was amazing. Two chicks were in the nest. I couldn't get close, as the tree was inside the golf course, but I could see them pretty well with my binoculars.

May 9th. Owls in the nest.

 
But wait a second. Is that two babies? Or a baby and an adult? The adult owl was right over my head...is that his mate, in the nest? Are there two babies or one? I had lots of questions that needed answers.

For May my goal was to average 8,000 steps a day, which was easily achieved as I went out to visit my owls every day, and often twice a day. Finding this owl family was a magical moment. Watching them every day, their behaviors, their growth, was completely fascinating. I came home and read about owls. I borrowed my dad's camera to get pictures.

And one of the best things about the owls was the joy it brought the human community. Most nights, as I stood watching them, neighbors would ask me what I was looking at. A mom and her little girl were so excited to see the nest and babies, they were thanking me. Two young women, when I showed them the owls, ran home to get their nice SLR camera, and took great pictures, which they then emailed to me. I met several people that live in my complex. Some people I would see every single night. Lots of people didn't care very much about the owl, but most were enchanted, as I was. In such a scary, uncertain time, finding the owl family brought us all a moment of calm, a time with our community, and a hint of magic.

So, May 15th, I got one of my questions answered. As I approached the Owl Tree, I discovered two adults sitting in it side by side! I looked at the Nest Tree, and there was clearly at least one baby in the nest. Now I could tell, from all the reading I'd been doing lately, that I had only ever seen the papa owl. The mama is bigger, and a lighter color.

May 15th. I didn't have my camera on me, so I took a picture with my phone, through my binoculars. The two adults sitting together.

May 16th I saw all four of them! I went out at dusk, and the two babies were really active in the nest tree, walking all over the place, flapping their wings. I thought they might fledge that night, leave the nest for good. I could only see papa in the Owl Tree, but then I heard a ruckus high up in the tree, crows screaming at something. Crows, I have learned hate owls. They like to sit next to them in the tree and scream at them, and pick at them, trying to drive them away. Nobody was bothering the papa, so I looked up, up, up, and there at the very top, I found mama, being harassed by the crows. She was probably in this tree all along, and I never thought to look for her! Magic is all around us, but we so often don't think to look for it! The papa owl was hooting quite a lot, which is another remarkable gift the owls gave me- watching a Great Horned Owl hoot is as cool as it sounds. Then he flew out to hunt.

Here's a photo that young woman took and sent to me- the mama owl often sat in this other tree, farther into the golf course. Here is her silhouette at sunset.

As May went on, I just loved watching them and learning their behaviors. On the 20th, the crows were really going nuts, and both adults left the Owl Tree to go sit in the Nest Tree. I managed to get one picture with all four owls in it. They're hard to see, can you spot them all?

The babies were getting big! Any day now they would leave the nest, and after that, from what I understood from my research, they would stay with their parents, in their territory, until the fall. The parents would keep feeding them as the babies grew and learned to hunt. In the fall, the babies would leave to go find their own territories and mates. And the adults would stay here and get ready to commandeer a new nest in the spring (Great Horned Owls steal old nests from other birds, rather than make their own.)

Mama on May 22. If you compare to the male owl, you can see a different in coloring and around the eyes. Also, she got harder to see because the tree leafed out!

 May 23rd I took my dad's camera and got lots of pictures of the babies walking around their nest tree, flapping, taking short hops to other branches. They're nearly ready!

May 23rd, the siblings looking at me from the Nest Tree

What a perfect little owl! May 23rd.

May 23rd. Baby practicing in the Nest Tree

And then, on May 26th, they were gone! It wasn't too sad, because papa was still sitting in his spot in the Owl Tree, so I knew the others must be quite nearby. And now I had a new mission- to try and find the babies. It's one thing to know they'll be in exactly the same place every morning, noon, and night, and another thing entirely to know they are somewhere "in this territory." I don't know how big the owl's territory is, or where it is, or what trees they like....but I wanted to see those babies again.

Papa Owl on May 23rd

Just a few days later, I saw one of the babies!! I usually take my binoculars out with me, especially to look for the babies, but I didn't have my dad's camera, so again I took a picture through my binoculars. She was just sitting there in the setting sun, close to the Owl tree, waiting for me to come say hello. (I call the babies she, but there is no way of knowing if they are males or females until they are fully grown). It's so good to see you again, little one!! I looked all over, but couldn't find her sister or parents.

May 29th. Just waiting for me to stop by for a visit.

Now I am birding a little more earnestly around where I live. I've found some awesome birds, including a kingfisher, Snowy Egrets, hawks and a night heron.

And I have seen a baby owl twice more! The first time, June 20th I saw her sitting in a completely different tree and different area, in the dusk, and I happened to have my dad's camera with me! I pointed the baby out to a woman walking her dog, and she was enthralled! We watched together for a while, and when we parted, she was so thankful to have seen it, and said we'll meet again to spot the owls in the future. It's so awesome to share my excitement with neighbors.

Nearly a month out of the nest - June 20th.

I wonder if she recognizes me?

The last time I saw the baby was on June 24th. It was getting quite dark, and I couldn't get any other pictures.

Update!! On the evening of August 5th, I saw one of the owls again! As I walked along the Cherry Creek through Paul Hentzel park in the evening, the birds were quiet. I hardly saw or heard any. Then....I heard a ruckus. The sound of several crows screaming! When several crows are sitting together, screaming, in a tree, it means one thing to me: An owl is there!!  Crows harass owls, and it is one of the best ways to spot an owl. I started running towards the noise!  And there, in a tree directly in front of me, were 4 or 5 crows screaming their heads off at a Great Horned Owl!   I watched it a while, and got a picture through my binoculars. I can't say for sure, but my gut tells me this is one of the babies, almost all grown up. The eyes were very yellow, and the papa owl from this spring had darker, orange-y eyes. And it definitely wasn't the mama. I just felt like the face looked different. I always like to spot my owl family and say hi to old friends! Here's a picture through the binoculars!

If I see any of my Owl family again this summer, I will update this post again!

I could not have asked for a more special, amazing gift to get me and so many others through the scariest time of the pandemic. Thank you, Great Horned Owls! I can't wait to look for them again in the spring, as they hopefully make a new nest somewhere nearby!

I also got several good pictures of other birds over the last few months. Here's a couple for fun:

Snowy Egret in Cherry Creek

Same Egret, after I scared it off the log. : )

Red Tailed Hawk right by my complex

Belted Kingfisher in the Cherry Creek (taken through my binocs, so not as good as the others)

Bluejay

This Past Year of Travel

Hanging at the Library

Last February, I blogged about the trips I had taken using some credits United gave me. This year, I don't have any free tickets, but I did take some trips, so I'm going to do a recap post again this year!

In early June, Paul and Sarah went to a wedding in Minnesota. Mom and Dad and I flew to Vermont to babysit! It sounds kind of crazy, but just think of it as a visit to my nephew where I didn't have spend much time with my brother. Oh snap!

"Fishing" with Orion

We spent a lot of time at the North Branch Nature Center, which is practically next door to Paul & Sarah's house. Orion had fun in the preschool area there, and the community garden, and climbing on the rocks. We also went to the farmer's market, the library, and spent time at Mom and Dad's airbnb, playing with the baby chicks and the cat.

We had a nice, relaxing visit with Orion.

Frankie and Orion at the zoo

In July, Paul and Orion came out for family camp at La Foret!We had some time before going down to La Foret to hang out with the Westlunds, play in my pool, and take a walk on the canal. We also went to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with Ben and Rhi Westlund and their kiddos, Frankie and Liam, and Brian even came down that day, too!

Family camp was great fun. I took my tent down and slept out behind the cabin. Orion and Paul had a room in the cabin, and Mom and Dad had another room. Orion and I had several early-morning adventures before breakfast. I always enjoy those times with him. He also did crafts with the kids, sports, swimming, and generally charming the pants off everyone at camp. He also made really good friends with Chloe and Jake Westlund.

My birthday is in August, and I like to go out and visit Orion at that time, since his birthday is just two days after mine. But since we had already hung out in Colorado at the end of July, I decided to take a road trip out to Utah to visit my friend Ben instead.  I drove out to Provo and had a super fun weekend with Ben! He gave me several birthday surprises! He lives in a big rambling house with several roommates, and there was plenty of room for me to stay. His landlady also owns a neat cabin in the mountains that she and her husband built. Ben and I went up there and hung out with his friend, Eric. Ben also took me on a bit of a campus tour of BYU, where he works. We went to Salt Lake City and did some sightseeing, and met up with friends of his for dinner. Then we went to see Cinderella (the play)!!

Labor Day weekend, I flew with Phoebe out to North Carolina to help my cousin Chris pack up and move to D.C. Phoebe and I checked out the botanic gardens in Aberdeen while Chris supposedly packed. Then we drove up to D.C., did some sightseeing, and got him moved in. My favorite was the National Postal Museum. It's a hidden gem!! Sounds boring, then wows you! Phoebe and I also went to Mt. Vernon one day while Chris was at work.

Outside the Supreme Court!

My niece Aurora Waring Eley was born October 16th! We didn't go out to see her, but we'll meet her further down this post...

Welcome to the world, little Aurora!

Desert walk near Nogales, Arizona

Immigration and immigrants rights is a pretty important issue to me, and in late October, I took a trip to Tucson with the Immigration Task Force from my church. We went to an organization called Border Links and spent several days with them learning about issues along the border. It was very interesting. We did a desert walk, went into Nogales, Mexico and had dinner with a family, did a simulation on legal immigration, learned about private prisons, and went to the federal courthouse to sit in on mass sentencing of apprehended border crossers. Our group learned a lot and brought back lots of ideas to share with folks from our church.

 Finally! Thanksgiving! Sarah, Paul, Orion, and Aurora all came out for the week and stayed at Mom and Dad's house. I got lots of baby time and toddler time. Orion and I played a lot of playdoh, and Aurora and I played a lot of being carried around while sleeping. We did some fun things like going to Camp Christmas at the Stanley Marketplace, and spent a day at the Museum of Nature and Science.

Auntie Laura meets Aurora!

So much construction Playdoh!

We had some downtime to watch videos- Brian, Mom holding Aurora, Orion, and me

Sarah, Orion, Aurora, and me

And here we are again, my favorite time of year to travel- President's Day Weekend I went to Tucson again! My parents were on a road trip and they planned their time in Phoenix/Tucson to coincide with my long weekend. We had a lovely time, visiting my dad's cousin Audrey in Phoenix, and sightseeing in Tucson. We had a really cute airbnb, and we went to the Desert Museum, the Museum of Miniatures, took a walk at Sweetwater Wetlands, and had my friend Dianna over dinner. I flew back to Denver and they continued on the road trip...until the car broke down in Deming, NM. Mom and Dad flew home from El Paso...ask them about that part of the story next time you see them!

Audrey, Mom, Dad, and me on a hike in Phoenix, AZ.

And that wraps up the past year of adventures!

Oh, wait. Did you want some pictures of a cute niece just for fun? Okay, here you go!!

I Bought a House!

Today I started my next big adventure - home ownership!

Signing 15 million papers at the closing!

 I bought a little condo! It is about 10 minutes from my parents' house, near Havana and Parker.

I'd been looking at condos, put in a few offers on places that weren't accepted, and hoping I would eventually get something.

Then one Monday morning, I was looking through listings, and saw this place had just been listed. I called my realtor right away and she got us in for a showing that afternoon. After we saw the place, we wrote up an offer and submitted that night. The next morning at 9am, she called to tell me it was accepted! This is a housing market you have to move really fast in. I feel really lucky I was able to get a good offer in before someone who could have offered more money than me.

Shall we step inside?

It's a really cute little place. It has a garage underneath, and a nice big deck. The community is really nice, lots of trees and green space, and it's right on the Highline Canal. I can even bike to the library!

Welcome to my deck!

I went over today to measure things, took over a few things, and think about how I want to arrange my place. I also met my nearest neighbors, who are very friendly and have two kids. This is going to be great! Moving day is Saturday, so I'll have a furnished condo in the near future! Here's a few pics of the place from today:

I'm confident that my new succulent will survive in my new kitchen.

Washer and dryer in the unit!? Dang I'm fancy!

Speaking of fancy, I've got a skylight in the bathroom!

Whaaaaat!? A tiny cat door in the hall closet!? Now all I need is a cat! (soon!)

Here's the eating area and the kitchen. Not gonna lie, it's a pretty nice kitchen for a small condo.

This is the view from the front door into the study (on the right), and down the hall to the bathroom and bedroom. Fireplace is on the left.

The fireplace in the living area, which the previous owner did the shiplap on herself!

A Year of Free Flights

So, in March 2018 I went to visit Paul, Sarah, and Orion in Vermont. At the end of my trip, Paul drove me to the Burlington airport for my flight home. Well, United had oversold the flight, and had to lose 3 passengers before they could fly. This was right after that incident where they pulled that doctor off the flight and got a lot of blowback for it. So they wouldn't even load the plane until they got three people to give up their seats. They started offering travel vouchers. Then they raised the amount the offering. Then they raised it again. When it got to about $1500, I thought, "hmm. Maybe I should take that. I'm working a part-time temporary job that will still be there if I miss one day..."

In the end, I got $2200 from United to not fly that day, and Paul came back to the airport and picked me up. United rebooked me to fly the next day, and Paul was relieved because they didn't have childcare worked out for the next day, so I was going to get the whole day with Orion! As it turned out, a blizzard came through and they canceled my flight for the next day, so I flew the following day. One takeaway is that I always overpack on underwear when going to Vermont, I frequently end up staying longer than I thought I would be.

So for the next year, I was able to have some fun trips and use my United money to buy flights for my family as well.  Here's what I did in the last year with my United money:

April 2018
My good friend from the Peace Corps, Anna, was getting a surprise baby shower thrown for her in Louisville, Kentucky. I thought I wouldn't be able to go, because who flies to Kentucky for a weekend when your friend doesn't even know you're coming? But when I got the United money, I booked a flight, and rounded up our other Peace Corps friends, Tim and Erin, to join me. It was a great little surprise mini-reunion! 

Tim, Eric (Erin's husband), Erin, me, and Anna on a chilly April weekend in Louisville

 I was able to spend the rest of the weekend with Anna and Kyle, and I visited Anna at her job, as well as checking out the American Printing House for the Blind museum. It was so cool, had tons of information and artifacts about the history of braille. I highly recommend it. Also, it was free! You should go!

August 2018
Orion turned 2 this summer!! I used my United money to fly out to Vermont to celebrate his birthday. I got to spend some time with him doing Auntie Adventures, while Paul and Sarah were at work. We went to a nature center right by their house that has this cool outdoor preschool playground. We spent a long time there and Orion loved it.

 

Two years old!!

The obligatory Orion and Tia Laura selfie

We did some rock climbing in crocs at the nature center

He is happy boy! This is also at the nature center.

 

Here he is cooking me some pie soup. This is in the fenced in preschool playground at the nature center. The preschool itself is in the red barn behind him. 

October 2018
In October, Paul and Sarah went to an no-kids-allowed wedding in California, so Orion came and stayed with his Colorado family for the weekend! I was able to buy all of their tickets out here with that United money. It was beautiful weather and we had tons of fun with O. We took him to the zoo, and to this cool park near us, and to storytime at the library which featured a visit from a real firetruck! 

Orion riding a triceratops

Reading with Uncle Awesome

A little rest and a snack with Grandpa Craig

Checking out the firetruck with Tia Laura at storytime

Walking through the zoo with Grandpa Craig

February 2019
My dad turned 70 this month! We decided to throw him a big party with all his friends. It was a super great party, everyone had fun! As a special surprise, I was able to bring Orion and Paul out for a long visit. He was very surprised, he had no idea they were coming! They stayed a week, which meant we had lots of time for fun! Paul, Brian, and I did an escape room with our friends Dana and Henry. We had dinners with the Westlunds, dinners with Phoebe, and dinners with other friends. Orion got to visit the zoo again, the Children's Museum, and of course, I took him to story time at the library.

The room set up for Dad's party

Orion contemplating life in a box

Orion and Paul video chat with Sarah, who stayed in Vermont to settle into her awesome new job

This is when I said I was going to take a nap, and Orion said he would sit by me and work on his computer while I slept. : )

Sudsy boy in the tub

Nothing is as fun as the recycling bin, am I right!? This was Orion sitting in his 'paper machine'

February 2019 (two days later)
Right after the boys flew back to Vermont, I used the last of my United money to go to San Diego and visit my friends Yaw and Helene and meet their new baby, Alexia. It has been a long time since I've seen them, and it was just the best trip, exactly what I needed after the stress of the week before, which was the Denver teacher's strike. We did lots of relaxing, which was fantastic. They live right across from Balboa Park, which is amazing, so I spent several hours there, looking at things, doing the audio tour, and visiting the United Nations country cottages. On the weekend, these little cottages (House of Norway, House of Puerto Rico, etc) are open and filled with memorabilia from that place, and a person hosting the day, and often food, music, or other cultural activities. If you go to San Diego, be sure to visit Balboa Park on Sunday afternoon!

The buildings are amazing! This is Casa Del Prado, just one of the places built for the 1915 California-Panama exposition. 1915! It's basically brand-new!

The beautiful California Tower, one of the few places built for the exposition and expected to last a while.

 

Helene and Lexi

Lexi and I got along famously

Again, the obligatory Lexi and Tia Laura selfie

Lexi finds swinging and listening to Yaw talk to be highly entertaining.

It was not excessively warm that weekend in San Diego

But it was beautiful!

Bonus Adventures
 I also took a trip to Michigan to be a bridesmaid in my friend Dana's wedding in May! I did not use the United money because I wanted to fly Southwest, but it was still one of my fun trips this year!

It was a fairy tale wedding!

 If you haven't seen this video of Brian and Orion, do yourself a favor and watch it several times in a row.

Also, on Labor Day, my good friend Ben came to visit from Utah! We rode bikes around Golden and did an escape room! And as good luck would have it, our friends from Tucson, Claire and her boyfriend Tomas, were also passing through Denver that weekend, from Argentina (!) and so we were able to get together with them for a little picnic in the park!

Ben, Me, Tomas, and Claire! Reunited in Denver for one afternoon only!

P.S. Sorry for everyone in this post who uses accents in their names. I couldn't get it together to figure out how to do accents on letters. Je suis desole and lo siento. : )