A WATCHFUL EYE

This past Tuesday morning Wanda and I were awakened by what sounded like an owl screaming in distress. We have lots of birds that feed in our back yard and have owls that live in woods behind our house. Through the years I’ve heard and seen the owls, but I have never heard one sound like this one.

I got up and went to the back porch and there the owl was on the back deck in a terrible way. It was screeching and screaming. Looking down on it was another owl. Its face looked to me of concern. It was watching, but there was little else it could do.

Wanda made a quick call to a bird society, and they said the owl was in distress due to some form of poisoning, probably from eating a poisoned rat or bug. They said that owls do not scream and screech like that unless they are poisoned.

As I watched, a raccoon was approaching the owl with intent of a meal. Then a cat appeared with similar intentions. I clapped my hands to scare them off, and the owl flew off to a tree only to fall to the ground. Then it flew off not to be seen. Wanda did hear it through the day, but she never saw it again.

I still see the watchful eye of the owl looking down on the hurting owl. I thought that even more we should have watchful eyes to help one another and fend off predators from Satan. God watches over us and that gives comfort, but we should watch over each other too.