Night Owl on the dawn shift

From Nature Cure by Richard Mabey (p.135):

The tawny owl's generic name is Sirix, Latin for witch, and there are stories of the Church burning owls for witchcraft in the Middle Ages…

The above quote is taken from the final paragraph I read over breakfast this morning before I put on my coat and went to get the car out of the garage. As I stepped out of the door, a tawny owl flew across my path and headed off down the hill. I have heard it hooting for the last week or so, but this was the very first time I have seen a tawny owl in my garden.

Coincidence?

I think you'll find it was.

Richard Carter

A fat, bearded chap with a Charles Darwin fixation.

2 comments

  1. I was once dive-bombed by a screech-owl, causing much stress & instant loosening of the sphincter muscle, causing me to become....Nite Owl, the faecally incontinent feathered avenger!
    Maybe Paramount Studios would be interested in a movie based on my crime-fighting adventures. Jack Black would be perfect in the lead role!

    Do I get copyright for your plagiarised heading?

  2. Not plagiarism, but parody (the defence of plagiarists throughout the world).

    You have my sympathy re. your screech-owl ordeal. Many years ago, I became Rocket Man following a not entirely dissimilar experience with a lettuce.

    Oh, I stand corrected: that was Sir Elton John.

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