We drove up a washboard road to the top of a 10,000 ft. high mesa, at Land's End, Colorado this week-end. It was my boyfriend's birthday and he was hoping to fly off it (in his paraglider--not a cape) the next morning, but unfortunately we woke up to light rain and strong winds (not good for flying). Land's End is the western edge of Grand Mesa, which is the largest mesa in the world-- over 500 sq. miles of forest and pastures at an elevation of 10 to 11,000 ft.
We were awakened by a chorus of owls in the trees surrounding our tent. Varying in pitch and tone, it sounded like an urgent meeting between several members of the owl hierarchy- one sounding very stern, a younger one complaining, and other interested parties chiming in with random hoots. I had never heard more than one owl call at a time in my life. It was both comical and magical, at once-- I wish I had a recording of it to wake up to every morning. I tried to get my camera from the car, but my stealth was no match for their attention and they flew away. I did spy one of them that landed in a nearby tree. It was a magnificent creature about 2 feet tall. As omens go, it seemed like a good one.
