The Other Blog of Udhara de Silva

Happy (Owl) Father’s Day

Cuckoo, The Great Horned Owl is a wonderful dad. While Mom rests on her clutch of eggs in late Winter, Dad goes out to find mice (hopefully Low-GI), rats, squirrels and whatever else he can scrounge up. When the eggs hatch, he has to work even harder to feed an extra two or three little Owlets. 

happyowldesign:

  The Story of Oscar & the Teapot

Oscar the stripy winged owl lives a colourful life. He wakes up just in time to bask in the freshest light of the Sun, listening to Bossa Nova tunes from the 60s, and reads the latest news in the Owl Fashion & Art World. He’s also particularly interested in the latest mouse catching hotspots. However, his absolute favourite thing to do in the morning is sip Genmaicha that brews for 4.5 minutes in his multi coloured Teapot. Oscar is a lucky owl, he gets to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

Oscar wasn’t always this lucky. Oscar grew up in the less than glamourous part of The Woods. Everyone around him had one thing and one thing only on their minds - rats. They lived to eat rats. Not a single owl in the neighbourhood had dreams, not a single one thought of life being more vibrant, more exciting, more fun than the dreary drudgery of the Rat Race. They seemed to have forgotten what life was all about. All but one Owl that is. 

Everyone from his school principle Mrs. Hooter to his owl mates to his parents Mr. & Mrs Wilderness thought he was crazy to think that someday he could live on the Upper Side of The Woods, eating only Mice, and stay awake during the day! But Oscar knew that somehow, someway, someday he’d live on the Upper Side of The Woods, eating only Mice, staying awake during the day to bask in the Sun.

Oscar was one day flying home from school, when he was drawn to a particularly colourful object. It was barely visible, covered by branches and twigs and dirt. It seemed like no one had used it in a while. Did it belong to anybody? It was a Teapot. He used his claws to find out what was in the Teapot. Nothing, except for a note on a piece of crumpled paper:

______________

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” - Napoleon Hill 

Oscar, I know only one owl in the whole of this part of town would find this teapot fascinating. Take it, and let it remind you everyday that you can live the way you want to.  ______________

“Who wrote that message?” Oscar would ask for years to come - even to this day -  sipping his Genmaicha. The message sat opposite his record player playing Bossa Nova tunes from the 60s, in an old, rustic frame. He thanks whoever that anonymous inspiration was by flying down to his old neighbourhood and inspiring all the Owlets of the area to have dreams, to dream not of flying to the outskirts of town for rats, but to soar high to the Moon and Beyond. Every now and then, he’ll find an owlet similar to him, and he’ll give them a colourful teapot, a bag of Genmaicha, and the quote that changed his life.

Sunny was a quirky one. He had sky blue feathers, and a habit for spotting the odd feather out of place on a neighbouring owl and preen it back into its rightful place. He was mocked for his appetite for a very particular, low carb/high protein species of mouse - that is until low carb/high protein mouse diets became all the rage (by then he’d moved onto a Low GI diet). He was different, he loved the Sun, whilst most other owls loved the Moon. And so, Sunny the Owl was left alone, and though he wanted a friend, he couldn’t be anyone but himself. He couldn’t change his sky blue plumage to light grey, or dark brown or even black. He couldn’t pretend to like those regular field mice for dinner, and he most certainly couldn’t spend the whole day sleeping.  

One day, as Sunny wandered the woods he noticed - perched on an Oak tree - the most fabulously pink feathers he’d seen in all the land. Pruned to perfection, not a feather out of place. He landed on a nearby branch. 

Her name was Dorothy. She smiled, and said hello. Within seconds, the two were hooting on about feathers, chic new hunting grounds and where hibernation season would be most glamourous. Seconds of conversation turned to minutes, and then to hours. 

Ferdinand van Kessel, A monkey smoking and drinking with an owl, c. 1680

Day 14- April 14, 2011. Namaste Owl