FoooooOOOOOOoooooooghhh..




...has rolled in complete banks now. A true sign of Fall's take over – the mists of Autumn! Not a rollicking King as was Summer; Autumn's mood is damper and darker, and his conqueror's cape drifts slowly about him as he strolls somberly through his new domain.

Amongst his royal repertoire is: His Creep Factor. Fall is known as the 'Scary Season' for a reason; and not just because he hosts Halloween. There's something spooky in the air that even the city-folk can feel, when the days get shorter and the dry leaves start blowing away.

Also in the air are more owls. I'd never put it together before, but many species of owls finish fledging and become independent during this time. So, as it gets dim earlier, the chance of spying a young owl establishing a territory is pretty good. This is probably why owls are often associated with this season more than any other.

I've even seen a few other night-owls on or near the trail these days. It had seemed strange to see Captain Papa owlito so far from home, late one evening- but there was definitely a shadowy, shape staked on a traffic sign near the freeway. His back was to me, as he studied intently the slope of the berm rolling down to a parking lot, which was a perfect position from which to watch for prey ...and swoop down on it !
As I neared, I could see that that wasn't Papa, for he was too large. Quite likely this was a Barn Owl (Tyto alba), and he being far from the Burrow Base was a good thing; he wasn't infringing on the Owlitos huntin' grounds at all.

I'd been bleating at the city-sheep and talking to the bunnies, so I wondered if I could commune with this new-comer too? He still hadn't noticed I was approaching, so when I got close, I called to him in my best owl-ese, “Uoo-Uoo” (I hoped I'd gotten the accent right, I had been practicing) Maybe, it was close, 'cause he didn't startle at the sound, no. He swiveled his head around, with that fluid sweep like a turret on a mount; expecting to see an owly amigo ...when he jumped at the sight of a person instead!

It was absolutely a Looney Tunes moment! He leaped into the sky; whirled his wings back in alignment with his head; and with a furious flapping, he lost a few feathers in his frantic flight of flight!

Oops, sorry ~heh.
...and don't worry, that didn't discourage him from sticking around. I've seen him in that area since.

Of course, some daysnights you're the spooker, and some nights you're the spook-ee...

The fog hides one elusive animal that I'm not able to identity, exactly. I only hear it's thrashing in the foliage past the fence, without knowing what it is. Of course, that's creepy! That first night, it nearly gave me a cardiac arrest when it crashed through the leaves, feet away from me through the chain-link. All I could do was accelerate, and hope that humungous, herculean, hiding in the hedgerows was not human. Homo Sapiens Sapiens is the only critter, I'm really scared of out here.
Be it because of their obnoxious automobiles, or their tendency to prey on one another; either/or, there are times, I'm not too crazy about my own species. For a while, well,  seconds, I considered not using the trail.     

If I can see other people, they're not a threat, just another graveyard shift worker usually; night-owls in their own right... but, if they come out from ambush; I could be in for an awful, adult, adventure!

Not that, that's happened, I'm still here, aren't I? I've just had the shit scared outta a few times by what was probably a raccoon or a skunk. Bless their furry little hidden hides.