Thursday 12 March 2015

Tess has been to the hairdressers this morning (so have I!) to have her first cut of the year.   Needless to say, after several days of almost Spring-like weather the forecast is for cold straight from Russia over the week-end.   The farmer refuses to let her have a little coat - he says she is a farm dog and must go out in all weathers.  I worry about her getting cold for the first few days although I think she is too busy chasing rabbits to really notice.
I post below at photograph of her after her cut (you could compare with the photo I posted of her a week or so ago when she was sitting on the stairs and looking like a ragamuffin).  I just could not get her to look at me, but it does show her lovely colouring and her smart appearance.
Now for a sad story.  I told you a while ago that our neighbouring farmer and friend A had two barn owls interested in his box in one of his barns.   They reared two chicks there last year and we have great hopes of them doing the same this year.   Now I hear this morning from friend G that a Naturalist friend of hers has picked up a dead 'road kill' barn owl quite near - maybe two or three miles round by the road but, as the owl flies, only perhaps five fields away.   Should it be one of this pair then sadly there will be no chicks this year - we must just wait and see.  I have taken a photograph of my stuffed owl to put on here.   Sorry about the quality of the photograph but it is behind glass and whichever way I turned it there is reflection.   It is a beautiful creature.   I used to collect Victorian stuffed birds and have seven or eight.   At least now most (wish I could say all) stuffed birds are ones which have been found dead.   In Victorian times I think they were trapped for the purpose - gruesome and one of the reasons why so many of these beautiful species began to get less and less.




8 comments:

John Going Gently said...

A barn owl often swoops low over the lane at night when I am out with the dogs.........wuite quite beautiful

donna baker said...

Tess looks like a city dog: quite pretty but I hope she stays warm. Poor owl. I saw many animals and hawks killed on the turnpike today.

angryparsnip said...

Bartholomew, the owl that visits my home is back !
I hope the barn owl come back.
For the last two years, I have tried to make coats for the 3 days The Square Ones really need one here. But always something happens. This year I will make them in the summer when it gets to hot to go outside.

You know I adore your Tess. She reminds me of my Samantha. But she had a more mixed coat of silver and black.

cheers, parsnip

Rachel Phillips said...

Barn owls have territories that can easily cover five miles. Unfortunately they do have a tendency to fly low along banks and across roads right at the height of vans and lorries. We see them around here all the time, as we used to at the farm, and I always shudder when seeing them flying so low. Tess looks good after her haircut.

Frances said...

Hoping that your barn owl couple are still flying about together and that you will see some chicks this spring. It's sad to know of such beautiful animals having fatal encounters on the roadways.

Hoping also that warm weather will be kind to Tess and her new haircut.

Reading update. I am about a third of a way through Sally Vickers' Miss Garnet's Angel and finding it an interesting novel. Thank you again for the recommendation.

Cheers!

Pondside said...

Tess is very chic! Our Rory had a haircut last week and is so much easier to clean after a walk on the beach.

Cro Magnon said...

I'm sorry to say that our barn owls have fled. I had promised to build them a dedicated nesting box, but I've not got round to it. I haven't even seen one for several years. I suppose I'm to blame.

Heather said...

Tess looks so smooth and silky since her haircut. Do you think she is sulking at having to go without her fur coat?!!
So sad about the owl. Your stuffed one is beautiful and allows one the chance to appreciate it's lovely plumage. I can remember when I was about 9 years old, one flew just above my head with the merest whisper from it's wings. I have never forgotten it, or seen one since.