♬♬ Hoot…hoot…hoot…hooooot…whooo…whooo ♬♬ It was 5:35 in the morning and the solo call was almost enchanting. Five, six, seven times the call broke the stillness, and I lay semi-awake, listening. Apart from the hum of the fridge, the silence in our trailer seemed to magnify the haunting call, creating a cozy, almost an eerie ambience. And then an amazing thing happened…I found I was listening to an answer! At a distance the reply came: ♬whooo…whooo♬
All right, I know it was just an owl! And it’s quite possible that it was sending out a message to other owls, letting them know it had found and claimed its new territory and to stay away. But perhaps the call was made to attract a potential mate, since hooting is part of the courtship for these nocturnal birds of prey. And since scouting for a mate begins in the fall, it could possibly have been a mating call. Interestingly enough, the repetitive response I heard continued to come closer with each hoot, so if this was a call for a mate, I think it was a beautiful sound (I guess I’m just a romantic at heart!) But whatever the reason for the early morning serenade, there was something magical about it, and I marvelled at how the solo reminder—albeit very early in the morning!—spoke of God’s handiwork in creation.
I’ve spent the last nine weeks surrounded by God’s creation. Our
gardens and the multiple variety of birds that fly to and fro from our feeders are a constant reminder of the magnificent beauty resulting from God’s handiwork. In Genesis 1 we read, “Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so” (1:11). And, “ … God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky’” (1:20). The birds and the gardens, and much, much more, are simply a reminder of the existence of God, the One who created it ALL!
Having spent a long time at our “home-away-from-home,” not only was I blessed by my surroundings, I have been privileged to sit under the inspiring teaching of God’s Word. I pray that the lessons I’ve learned and those that I’ve been reminded of for a second time will not only make me a better person as I live my daily day, but that I will continue to love and serve the Creator of the Universe. I am humbled and blessed, and have been reminded of the great responsibility to live my life according to those things that please my heavenly Father and to live my life daily in accordance to His will for my life.
Please enjoy a journey around our “home-away-from-home,” knowing that it will be left silent when the season ends, awaiting spring when life begins again in so many ways.
As to the owl, I have only heard it once! Maybe he found his mate!
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