We lived with lots of animals in the area who liked to eat chickens, so the chickens had a shelter whether it was under the old shed, or a make-shift roost in the garden area (for the winter so that it would be ready to grow in the next spring.) But still, sometimes, chickens would just disappear.
At one point, the chickens were disappearing, one per night. My parents thought of everything that might be getting in to eat the chickens and finally, my father put a leg-hold trap on top of one of the posts, then went to work (swing shift at the time.)
He came home, middle of the night, and found this Great Horned Owl flapping around in the trap!
He got his really thick work gloves and put the bird in one of the old mink cages and called the Fish and Game people to find out what to do with this owl.
I remember seeing this bird – which took up the majority of the cage (the largest cage we had…) The Great Horned Owl is the second-largest Owl in the US, but the largest west of the Rockies. My parents fed it bits of raw meat while waiting for help regarding the owl.
The guy came and took the owl to be released 30 miles away. He assured us that owls remember things like traps – he wouldn’t be back.
To get the owl out of the cage, they had to use wire cutters, so that cage wasn’t any good after that.
I don’t remember having further owl trouble for a number of years thereafter.
(Great-Horned Owl picture from PxFuel.)
Past issues...
Preschool to Second Grade - Svensen, Oregon (1976-1981)
Svensen Trailer Court , The Best Place for a Child to Grow , The Forming of a Farmer
Third and Fourth Grade - Corvallis, Oregon (1981-1983)
Fifth Grade, first half - San Jose, California (1983)
Fifth Grade, second half - Corvallis, Oregon (1984)
Sixth Grade, beginning - Philomath, Oregon (1984)
Sixth to Eighth Grade - Svensen, Oregon (1984-1987)
High School - Svensen, Oregon (1987-1991)
OSU - Corvallis, Oregon (1991-1992)
Itchy Feet - Laramie, Wyoming to Wisconsin (1992)
Coming of Age - Madison, Wisconsin (1992-1995)
Newlyweds - Westchester County, NY (1995-1997)
Innocents Abroad - Moving to England (1997)
Waking Up - Southampton, England (1998-2003)
Saving Myself - Refuge - Portsmouth and Newbury, England (2004)
Renewed Independence - Reading, England (2005)
Our Golden Era - Warminster, England (2005-2009)
Troubles - Warminster, England (2010-2012)
An Inauspicious Move - Blaenllechau, Wales (2012-2013)
Repatriating - Vancouver and Battle Ground, Washington (2013-2015)
New Journey - Republic, Washington (2016)
Seeking Help - Spokane, Washington (2016)
New Life - Casper, Wyoming (2017-present)
Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
(Buy my work at RedBubble, TeePublic, PicFair and DeviantArt.)
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(Buy my books at Books2Read and at LBRY)
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