Our Island Family Life

                                        Summer fun with  friend

Sofie and I were sitting in the living room snuggled together in the chair when about 5 feet from us we heard a BOOM at the window beside us. After jumping out of our skins we turned to look at saw the huge wingspan of the barn owl that had just hit the window. It was stunned and only made it to the railing on our deck with is attached to our living room windows side. We went to the window and it haltingly flew to a nearby branch which was maybe two feet from the railing. It sat there for quite a while and we got a great show. It was very exposed and I had never been so close to an owl like that before. Sofie was beyond thrilled. It just seemed to big. This was a few days ago and yesterday Will saw what we assume was the same barn owl sitting on the wood frame of our compost bin. It is not far from the house but Will said it just sat there while he creeped closer and closer until he was about 10 feet away. Then Will stopped and watched it a while before it finally took off. That owl better get busy and kill all the freaking voles and mice. I got two in traps yesterday. The day before one got in the trash can and it shredded my bag. We have to buy our bags from the city and they are not cheap. I was pretty peeved. The day before that I got another one in a trap. I keep my house as crumb free, sealed and clean as I can but they are just coming in in droves this year. I have 10....count'em...10 traps out and get almost one a day. We get more voles than mice in the house though. The mice don't even freak Sofie anymore since they are so tiny compared to the voles. She thinks they mice are "baby" mice and thus cute and touchable while the voles are the "real" mice to be feared. Cade likes to scream, "mouse!" and Sofie runs crying and screaming up furniture (or me) when there isn't even anything there. I am planning my revenge and scaring the crud out of him sometime and see how he likes it. Besides, after this past week I am not above admitting that it just might feel good. I know. I am bad.