It's Date Night and OWL's Well!!

I've hit a bunch of animals with my Suburban lately. We live out in the country and it's not uncommon for all kinds of critters to run out in front of our cars in the dark. In the last week, I've hit a possum (who looked RIGHT AT ME before he went *crunch*... I still feel bad about that!) and 2 squirrels! But last night, on our way home from our Date Night to go see Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows (which PS, was AWESOME!)... where Dave took me to have one of these:

Toasted Marshmallow Amore

It was all fun and games until some creature with a death wish decided to SWOOP in front of our moving vehicle.

That's right. This guy flew into my windshield!

We hit an owl. Strike that... we hit a FLYING OWL!!!

It left a smudge print on my windshield and spun off across the street! (Thankfully, it wasn't big enough to go THROUGH the window!)

Because I was hoping that it wasn't dead... and because it wasn't a possum or a raccoon, but actually a kind of bird that I LIKE... after I took the babysitter home, I drove past where it bounced off the Suburban. It was sitting in the grass turning its head around but otherwise, not moving.

I was happy that it wasn't dead but, I felt bad leaving it there to be eaten by coyotes or whatever larger predator might be hankering to a morsel of owl... I went home to get a blanket and Rubbermaid tub. This breed of owl is only about the size of my 10 yr old's sneakers. It was LITTLE.

OK, at this point, I realize I've LOST you.

WHO the hell brings a wounded owl back to their house after hitting it with their car? Figuring they could take it to a vet in the morning to attempt to mend what was broken?

Me. That's who.

And YES, Dave thought I was slightly nuts... but he knows me... and he knows that it wasn't a rodent. I'm NOT signing up to be your "Friendly Local Squirrel Rehabilitator". My brother has a story about that from Notre Dame. I'll have to tell it to you some day.

So, I drove back (the whole 300 yards from my garage to the spot where the owl was) and as I was getting out of the car, the owl hopped a few feet, turned itself around, and flew across the street into the woods. If you're thinking that I'm crazy enough to follow a STUNNED owl into the woods... you're off your gourd! As long as that sucker was off the ground, I'm OK with walking away...

...which is just what I did.

And that's how a regular Date Night... became a near death experience... and turned out to be quite a hoot.

**I'm JUST that PUNny!**

Disclaimer: I've spent a lot of time around birds. I actually studied and handled lots of them in college. If I hadn't, there's no way I would've gone back to check out the owl. I DON'T recommend that you attempt handling wildlife.

Further... I DON'T recommend you hit flying birds with your car.

For the record, this bird had a death wish. WHO swoops, silently, in front a moving vehicle? Suicidal owls... that's WHO!

**even my disclaimers are PUNny**