Have you ever seen anything as amazing as this?

Instead of pictures of Barn Owls (as you would normally expect to see on a page called OWL WATCH), I have decided to post these amazing images of two Rattle Snakes performing their ritualistic mating dance (a very rare thing to witness). The pictures were sent to me by Mark, but were taken by his good friend Opa Tuklo, a Choctaw man whose name literally translates to 'Owls Two'', or 'Two Owls'.

Opa Tuklo got his name as a small child when, one night, he was out hunting with his father and other family members. It was his job to keep the fire burning while the others were off in the forest hunting. He was told to keep the fire small so as not to use all the wood. But, as he sat there alone, he became frightened by a strange sound coming from the darkness. Fearing it to be a monster, he built the fire up so that it burned strong and bright, but in doing so, he quickly used up all the wood. When the men returned, they asked him why he had wasted all the firewood, and he described the noises he had heard. They listened to his story, and then told him that it wasn't a monster that he'd heard, but rather two Owls talking to each other. And from that night on, he became known as 'Two Owls Laughing', or 'Two Owls' for short.

These Snakes are Rattle Snakes, and the photos were taken in Texas, USA. To get an idea of how big these Snakes are, compare their size to the Pick-up tracks made in the grass. And if you consider that a Snake is only able to lift a third of its body length off the ground ... then it becomes pretty clear that these 'Rattlers' are not creatures to pick a fight with!! Thank you, Opa Tuklo for giving permission to share these images with the world.

Barn Owl - Visitation

Barn Owls, Monkey-faced Owls or White Owls, are found throughout the world, including North and South America, Europe, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia. They inhabit farmland, forests, bush land, plantations, woodland, marshland and suburban areas alike. They feed on rodents, reptiles, insects and small birds, nesting in tree hollows, crevices in walls and cliffs, abandoned buildings, barns, chimneys and warehouses. They have flat, heart-shaped faces, snowy white and ochre-coloured plumage and felted edges on their wing feathers that afford them the gift of silent flight.

If a Barn Owl enters a house via its chimney, is seen sitting and calling from the roof of a house or is heard during the day or for three nights in a row, British tradition says there will be news of a death or a sudden ending. The indigenous people of Australia say that Owls personify the souls of women. Therefore, according to legend, they are considered sacred. Owls are our sisters and our sisters are essentially Owls. Pueblo Indians are said to avoid entering a building containing a body or feathers of an Owl, while according to Navajo belief, Owls are the embodiment of the souls of the dead and are messengers of the Underworld. It is interesting to note, too, that twilight is otherwise known as ‘Owl-light’; a perfect time to set about communicating with the dead, according to esoteric tradition. Often the totem of mystics, shamans, spiritual healers and seers, the Barn Owl, or the Ghost Owl, is the sentry that guards the passage that leads to the Underworld. It is my experience that when one is visited by a Barn Owl, a loved one in Spirit is trying to make contact or is wanting to reassure those left behind of their wellbeing and happiness. The Barn Owl is an emissary of change and a harbinger of the inevitabilities of life and death and is therefore also associated with people whose work centres on death. Rather than portraying death as a final destination, however, Barn Owl Dreaming portrays it as the beginning of a journey rather than an ending. The word death is often taken literally, rousing confronting images in the mind of emotional upheaval, funerals and cemeteries. When the word death is used in a spiritual context, however, it usually refers to a necessary ending: a transition from an outworn aspect of life into a new phase or the closing of one door so that another may open. Although it can indicate the passing or visitation of a loved one, Barn Owl Dreaming more often than not represents the death of the old familiar self – and the eventual rebirth of the new. It affords the clarity to see through the gloom, confusion and grief associated with death or change while encouraging us to reassess our life and how we live it. It primes us for a time of awakening, a period of regeneration and growing awareness. It nurtures our dormant understanding of the bigger picture by offering insight into the darker mysteries of Creation. It helps us understand or find peace with why things happen while vowing to give them purpose. Barn Owl Dreaming offers death to the recognized self by daring us to ponder who, what and why we are the way we and then to seek our greater purpose and grow spiritually.

Extract taken from Animal Messenger [published by New Holland Australia]

Mr and Mrs Barn Owl (AKA - 'Owls In Waiting')

The pair must remain vigilant at all times for the local Horned Owl that would just love to make a meal of them both! Let's hope they always stay safe.

2007's clutch of Owlets, taken May 23, 2007

Now, they're something to be proud of, huh?!

Barn Owl Pellets found on the stairs leading up the tower

Owls swallow their prey nearly whole; however, the fur and bones of their prey cannot be digested. The food goes into the proventriculus which is found just before the gizzard. (Owls do not have crops like many other birds.) As food starts to digest in the gizzard, the muscles separate the fur from the bones. The fur and bones are then pushed forward to the proventriculus. About 12 hours after eating their prey owls spit out a pellet, an ellipsoidal to spherical glob. Owl pellets are clean of all flesh and odourless.

[Information gleaned from www.msnucleus.org]

What you might find in the pellet of a Great Horned Owl