There WAS An Owl

A few months ago I was reminiscing and thinking about what has drawn me to my interest in birds.  I was thinking back to when I was a kid.  My Grandparents lived next door to me.  They had a house, a barn, a detached garage, a working windmill, a huge raspberry patch, a large vegetable garden, an apple orchard,  a grape arbor, a cow, a horse, a series of dogs all named Shep, chickens, pigeons, an owl.  Then I thought, now wait a minute.  Is that right?Who has an owl?  Nobody has an owl.  Owls are wildlife.  How could a person keep an owl as a pet?  How would you keep an owl for a pet?  I asked my cousin who is just a few months older than I am.  She lived in St. Paul but would often visit our Grandparents.  She didn't remember any owl.  Maybe there wasn't an owl.  Maybe I got mixed up with the Harry Potter stories.  Today I saw an Uncle who was just a young lad when I was a kid.  I started out slowly, hesitant to actually ask about an owl. Do you remember the garage?  The windmill?  The grape arbor?  He nods yes to all these questions.  He remembers the pigeons too.  He and his brother had the pigeons.  An owl?  I ask in a soft voice.  My uncle tells me his brother had a pet owl,  a great horned owl, and he kept it in the pigeon cage as a pet.  Two aunts are at the table.  They remember the owl too.  One aunt tells me she has a picture of my owl owning uncle with the owl on his shoulder.  If I come to her house she will show me the picture.  Why he had the owl and what happened to the owl is still unknown.  I'll have to ask the Uncle who wasn't there today these questions.  I can hardly wait to see him now.  I try to picture my 7 year old self walking behind the grape arbor and beholding an great horned owl in a pigeon cage.  Now it's no wonder why I like birds so much.