A Killer's on the Loose

Barry settles in for an evening of hunting.

A closer look at our steely-eyed killer.  (I couldn't edit out the branch obscuring those steely eyes.)

And if you're a mouse you should be afraid.  Very afraid.  Especially if you're a mouse who lives around the foundation of our house underneath the deck and the screened porch downstairs.  If you live down there, bad things stalk you at every turn.  There are the peanut butter baited mouse traps inside the house that the cruel owner strategically places around the basement, and then there is Barry the Barred Owl.  Barry loves mice, as appetizers, as main courses and as desert (dipped in a little maple syrup I presume).  This is the second year in a row that Barry has shown up in late Winter (please let me continue with my delusion that it's now late Winter and not mid Winter), perched in our birch tree and hunted the mice that live beneath the deck.  Last year we actually saw him swoop and snatch.  He showed up again today for the first time this year and although he has done a lot of swooping, we haven't seen him snatch anything yet.  Catherine and I were again impressed at how big of a bird Barry really is.  He must be over 20 inches from head to tail, and he has a really impressive wing span.    Tonight would be a good night for Rocky the Flying Squirrel to stay home, forget about the bird feeders and just watch a little T.V.  Even if he is hungry.  Because if there's one thing Barry likes more than mice, it's flying squirrels.  (Dipped in a little maple syrup of course.)