And now, this is some more trial text. :-)
I'll be darned. It works in preview, so, I'll go ahead and post.
That top pic is pretty darn good!
When I was 16(?) my Dad and I found a large injured barred owl beside the road. Nothing seemed “broken”, but Dad surmised it had a concussion, possible internal injuries, and, from the way it didn’t want to move its wings, joint injuries at the base of its wings. My brother and I nursed it back to health, first getting it to eat large grasshoppers, then mice, and finally, small chunks of hamburger right out of our hands. We were amazed that it never tried to bite or nip at us, nor try to escape, and only at first did it seem afraid of us at all. (Granted that “calmness” may have partially been due to the suspected concussion.) We had trouble catching enough mice for it, and eventually bought some from a neighbor who raised feeders.
Dad cut a sort of heavy stump-post that I nailed a branch onto for the bird to perch on, and it took right to it. Curiously, it never tried to fly around in the garage we had it in. It would hop onto my arm and let me carry it around - Dad loaned me an old leather jacket for that! Talk about a grip...
Dad turned up a recording of owl calls, so I tried learning hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo — hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-awwww, and the owl would tip its head a bit, but I don’t think I convinced it I was another owl!
After a couple weeks, the owl seemed to be doing well, so, I donned the jacket and took it out with Dad and my brother in front of our house at dusk. A quick “lift” and it was off, only the 1st wingbeat being even faintly audible. Viewed from a couple feet away, and in action, that 4’ wingspan was pretty impressive! Then watching that owl soar away into the fading sunset was truly unforgettable. It was almost like a movie, but everyone would say it was all staged!
What a cooool story!!
Closest I got to anything like that was nursing a baby squirrel that our cat had attacked. We kept him as a pet for maybe a few months. Then one day we decided he was good enough to join the rest of the squirrel population. He would come back to visit, and hop on Mom’s shoulders, but we discouraged that quickly.
Your story is much much better!!
And now, this is some more trial text. :-)
I'll be darned. It works in preview, so, I'll go ahead and post.
Beautiful.
Real human beings are kind to animals.