David Heiller
One of the sounds of
spring that has been absent so far this year is the hooting of owls.
They usually make quite a racket in
our woods in March and April. I
like the wild sound of owls. I like seeing them too. It’s a lucky day when you
see one gliding silently through the woods like a cargo plane. Or when you come
upon one sitting in a tree.
But this year the woods have been quiet. I’ve
only heard a few hoots. Ron Goetzinger, who works for the DNR in Moose Lake,
explained why.
“It’s been a pretty tough winter for owls,” Ron
told me on April 15. “Normally they feed on mice and stuff like that under the
snow, and the snow is so deep that they never could get down in there to get
their feed so they just starved to death.”
The lack of food has made them bolder too. We
had a barred owl at our bird feeder two weeks ago. It must have been looking
for an easy meal of red squirrel or sparrow. The dogs chased it away, but not
before it flew up into a maple tree next to the house to catch its breath. My
son and I got a good look at it, and it was a fine sight indeed.
Larry Dagel, who lives east of Sturgeon Lake on
County Road 161, had a closer encounter with a great horned owl this winter
that wasn’t such a fine sight.
Here’s how Larry, who owns and operates Sturgeon
Lake Feed Mill, told the story on April 15:
“I turned the dog out at 5:30 in the morning to
go to the can. It was dark then. In front of the house I’ve got a sidewalk. It’s
half the length of the house, 20 feet.
“Before the dog even got to the end of the
sidewalk, the owl had it. It just put the grip right across the shoulder
blades, shoulder and stomach, and it punched eight or 10 holes in the dog.
Blood was running out to beat heck.
“The dog started squealing, and I came out the
door and the owl just looked at me. And I grabbed him around the back on both
wings and I rung his neck. He wouldn’t let go of the dog.
“The next day I
chucked it in my woodstove. I guess a guy ain’t supposed to have them around,
so I just got rid of it. Eliminate the problem.
“I’ve never seen one
that close to the house. He had to be right in a tree by the house because the
dog had only been out less than 10 seconds and the owl grabbed it. It was like
he was waiting there for him.”
It’s been a tough winter for owls in more ways
than one.
But things will get better. Spring is just
around the corner, and when it hits, it will hit hard and fast and green, and we’ll
all be happy.
The
maple trees know that. Our 55 taps produced 30 gallons of sap
on April 13, 56 gallons on April 14, and 66 gallons on April 15. That’s by far
the most we’ve ever gathered in one day.
I think they are like the rest of us, pouring out
their frustration over an endless winter, anxious and excited for warm weather
to stay so they can get on with life and growth.
This winter has been
like a bad dream that you know you are having but you can’t quite wake up from.
When we awake, we will all breathe a big sigh of relief.
Especially Larry
Dagel’s dog, which by the
way, did manage to survive the winter of 1996.
Thank you Cindy, for bringing this to my attention. I'll send this to Ronnie's e-mail address! (We just each have our own!). That is such a good article and I remember Larry telling us about that incident with his little dog...:(. Thanks again, Cindy!
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