The Release

Before

After

Last night we went to an event to celebrate the work of people in our town who take care of injured wildlife. I was stoked to go because during the event, three screech owls were to be released into the wild. I'm not sure I told you this yet, but just last week I opened my front door in the evening (to get the mail) and a screech owl was sitting on a branch in my front yard. I never see owls in the wild, so I was stoked, as I've mentioned. Seeing the owl in the yard was a massive mood elevator. Basically I'm all about the owls right now.

So last night, we're drinking wine at the event and getting excited about seeing the owls released into the wild. While we waited we got to see a kestrel and a barn owl. KR and Nancer were there as well. When the owls came out with their volunteer helpers, we took some pictures. Then we walked over near a pond to watch the first owl (O#1) get his first taste of freedom in quite some time. As we huddled together in anticipation, O#1 flew about six feet and then dropped to the ground. The volunteer picked O#1 up and released him again. This time O#1 flew right over the pond. We were all cheering. Suddenly, O#1 froze mid-air, came to a complete stop, and dropped down into the pond. We all stared toward O#1 in silent horror, while he flapped his wings in a kind of swimming motion. A heroic man in the crowd took his phone out of his pocket and started swimming across the pond, holding his phone above his head. Volunteer started screaming, "Sir! Sir! Get out of the pond! Don't touch the owl! You'll get hurt!"

But the guy was on a mission and he kept swimming. Finally, Volunteer jumped in the pond and started swimming toward the owl as well. She still had the protective glove on her arm, so Heroic Man slowed down and allowed Volunteer to reach the owl first and swim him to safety.

After that, the volunteers released O#2 and O#3, who flew up to a nearby tree. O#1 will be released later.

Good luck, O#1. You're probably a little embarrassed about the debacle of your release, but put it behind you. Big things await. Do your best and forget the rest.