Bad Art I Am Compelled To Share

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Not So Wise Owl

This is a picture of a not so wise owl. It was drawn on a scrap of multi-purpose copy paper then cleaned up and colored in Photoshop. I recently had someone tell me my power animal is an owl. The woman who told me this had never met me before and just kind of blurted it out. Hearing this shocked me. I have had three very strange encounters involving owls.

The first happened when I was ten. My family was camping at Lake Mojave. My stepbrother and I decided to sneak away from our tent one night and go fishing. I had a flashlight but I didn't turn it on because we were trying to be inconspicuous. We tiptoed out of the campground toward the river trying to be extra quiet, something not that simple for two giddy ten-year-old boys. We finally got to the edge of the river and relaxed a little bit. I turned on the flashlight and pointed it out across the water.

Suddenly from behind us came this weird swoosh sound. I whirled around and the light fell upon an owl sitting on a tree stump. It couldn’t have been more than three feet from us. The owl’s eyes glowed yellow as it let out a haunting shriek. Then the owl spread it's wings wide and flapped them. I swear to God/dess the wingspan was twenty feet from tip to tip! My stepbrother and I dropped everything and ran screaming back to our tent, waking everyone in the campground.

The second encounter happened when I was sixteen. My family was out of town and I was bored at home by myself. I decided to walk to my best friend’s house. It was a five-mile walk down a quiet, country road. My plan was to stay the night and catch a ride back home in the morning. I didn’t bother to call ahead because they were always home. (I would find out later the whole family had gone to a Barry Manilow concert and stayed the night in the big city.)

So, when I finally arrived at my friend’s house it was locked up tight and no one was there. I waited. I thought they would be back soon. After all, they were always home. The sun went down and I waited. The moon came up and I waited. Still no one came home.

Around midnight I decide to leave a note on the front door and go sleep in their barn. I climbed into the hayloft and fell asleep. At some point in the night I awoke with a start. I was lying on my back with my hands behind my head and when my eyes jerked open I was staring into another set of eyes. An owl had perch itself atop the hay bails I was using for a headrest. I was a little scared so I tried not to move. The owl just kept staring at me.

Finally, after what seemed like hours it looked away and I slowly slid to another corner of the loft and sat up. Then we sat there and stared at each other for the rest of the night. The owl eventually flew off and I walked home in the twilight of morning.


The last owl encounter occurred about seven years ago when I was on tour with an improv troupe. The troupe was driving through the night to get to our next gig. I had the 2am to 5pm shift and had been driving for about forty-five minutes. I felt like I was the only car on the road and everyone else in the van was asleep. It was very peaceful.

Suddenly an owl came swooping out of the darkness. The owl was enormous and beautiful, shinning in the high beam glow of the van’s headlights. The moment was amazing and magical. I had to share it with someone. Just as I was about to say, “Look at that owl!” It changed directions and slammed into the front of the van, rolled up the windshield and thumped across the roof.

KA-POW… thump, thump, thump, thump… thump. Everyone in the van woke up screaming and wanted to know what I had run over. None of them believed me when I told them an owl had just hit us. I pulled over to see if there was any serious damage. The van was unharmed but the grill was covered in feathers, blood and fleshy bits. Icky.

Now I have some strange woman tell me the owl is my power animal. The universe sure has a warped sense of humor.

Do you have a power animal? Have you ever accidentally killed your power animal? Will you leave some love for me?

28 Comments:

  • hmmm...I don't think I've ever had an owl encounter that was quite as memorable as those...maybe an owl tattoo would be appropriate...did you see the one that hit the van again?
    Love you and your animal spirit guide XXXOOO

    By Blogger Lee, at 02:46  

  • have you ever read animal speaks? hopefully this link will work. you might have to copy and paste the whole thing into your browser. It's about the power of owl
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0875420281/ref=sib_vae_pg_172/103-2081100-6093445?%5Fencoding=UTF8&keywords=owl&p=S057&twc=42&checkSum=U5akWp6taPzQpHO3NstJ9TFj%2F4%2B%2BNia11Vjaam%2FRcLg%3D#reader-page

    love

    By Blogger Unknown, at 04:10  

  • I spent a couple of days at an ancient Salish site (9,000 years old) up the coast and was given the Salish name "Yamathlka" in a native naming ceremony. It means "snowy owl". So I guess we're related. WHO-d-a-thunk it?

    By Blogger andrea, at 08:38  

  • I think you are in serious trouble!

    ;-)

    love

    By Blogger Caroline, at 08:55  

  • Hi my name is Beth (http://motherluck.blogspot.com/)

    I've just read you bit about the owl on Caroline's screen.

    Don't take it personally about killing animals with your vehicle.

    I've travelled in three continents and killed power animals all over the place...

    Of course I felt bad about it but when I've asked the land its not upset, the answer being that there was nothing else you could do.

    The death of something does strengthen the link between you and the animal guide.

    love Beth

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 09:01  

  • Nope, can't say that I have a power animal......hope you're not in trouble for sqashing yours! love

    By Blogger Janet, at 09:39  

  • dear unknown, this was a great post! my husband and i laughed at the part where you asked if we had ever killed our power animal, yer so funny! when people say things like power animal i find it kinda buggin!!! love

    By Blogger valerie walsh, at 10:00  

  • I do not want to tell what my power animal is because everybody is going to laugh.... And yes I've killed those damn flies a lot of time....
    What? The fly is not an animal? I NOW realize how this fortune-teller was strange...And cheap....
    Buzzlove.

    By Blogger merlinprincesse, at 10:23  

  • merlinprincesse totally cracks me up! i love her too! love

    By Blogger valerie walsh, at 15:43  

  • My power animal is the Turkey, bird flu notwithstanding.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 02:32  

  • Glad you did'nt draw the front of the van. Can't say I've killed my power animal. Had a mate who was on his motorbike along the sea road and he noticed a huge sea-gull coming right at him.. all he could do was put his head down and BAHM. Stayed on bike but helmet was'nt a pretty sight. Probably all Barry Manilow's fault with that Bermuda Triangle business.
    OwlLove.

    By Blogger modroom, at 09:08  

  • Poor owl :(

    Well, I dont know what my power animal was. Maybe cats. I love cats.

    By Blogger rinaz, at 10:12  

  • My power animal is a black crow. I specialise in death.
    Love.

    By Blogger Anonymous, at 11:43  

  • My power animal is a Slave. I accidentally kill them all the time. MWAHAHAHAAA. Wicked love };-}

    By Blogger Hellcat, at 11:45  

  • I do have a power animal, it's a snake, and i have never killed one i like snakes

    By Blogger RedT0pMedusa, at 17:21  

  • Much too afraid to find my power- animal-spiritual-guide-totem-what-so-ever! My color is jaffa orange and my numerology is full of 11 and 22, that's already too much for me!

    When pregnant, I listened to a tape to find my spiritual guide. He's old, chinese, and always laughing at me! You're damned wright, The Unknown, Universe have a warped sense of humour!

    So one day, took a decision! Here in Quebec Province, whe have shops named "Dollarama", where everything is at $1.! Be carefull! Think that they will soon open in the US! So I went to the Dollarama and bought me a spiritual guide for $1. Looks like a little bearded man, with a big nose, Spock's ears, sitting on a log, and he seems laughing at me, so he's not being of any help. Perfect!

    By Blogger Clo, at 20:33  

  • lee: Maybe a stick on tattoo.
    love

    toni kelly: Bah! the link didn't work for me but I did some checking on my own. Thanks for the place to start.
    love

    andrea: I'm not even sure what kind of owl my power animal is... er was.
    love

    caroline: I know I'm in serious trouble.
    Maybe it was just a stupid owl though.
    love

    beth: Thanks for the words of encouragement. I hope the owls feel the same way. :-)
    love

    janet:
    :-)
    love

    valgalart: Happy to make you smile!
    love

    merlinprincesse: I'm beginning to think the strange woman who yelled at me was you.
    love

    valgalart: me too! :-)
    love

    detlef: Make a turkey sandwich and you could have a power lunch.
    love

    modroom: Your friend's story sounds worse. At least the van was a rental.
    I like the idea about blaming Barry Manilow!
    love

    marina: Cats it is! :-)
    love

    anonymous: Ahhh... the trickster.
    love

    Hellcat: I believe you have killed many of your power animals and buried them under the house.
    love*vomit*

    redt0pmedusa: I have a snake in my pants that I like to think of as my power animal.
    love

    clo: Face your fears! We already have the cursed $ stores in the States. Your purchase sounds like the best I have ever heard of from a dollar store.
    love

    By Blogger The Unknown, at 23:37  

  • Hrm mine is a tiger i guess... though i'm not too ferocious... i dated a guy who was a frog for a bit... sex was a little odd... frogs and tigers don't do it well together, i almost ate him alive... poor guy! oh and <3

    By Blogger Tiger Brooke, at 00:41  

  • I don't know what my power animal is. If I had to guess I would say the beaver. I love beavers. :-)

    By Blogger Jonpaul, at 01:56  

  • So Jonpaul that would make your power animal the unknown, too much beaver is a health hazard.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 02:03  

  • Mwhahahahaaaa. Huh? ... shoo Turkey!

    By the way Unknown you're right!
    Love };-}

    By Blogger Hellcat, at 02:26  

  • Beaver is our national animal up here... Hey guys!!!! Come to CANADA! And NO UNK, I NEVER YELL OKI!!!!!!???
    schhhh.... *whisperedlove*

    By Blogger merlinprincesse, at 07:44  

  • I think my power animal is a Dactshund. Seriously. I have weird Dachy encounters like that. Though I've never killed one.. They just 'appear' at odd moments in life. Hard to explain it, considering I've always really been a 'cat' person.. ??

    Sorry you killed an owl, that must have really sucked..

    I had an owl dream 2 nights ago, I let one fly loose in a crowded room, and got told off for causing chaos.

    Owls rock. They are Sacred.

    By Blogger Chandira, at 10:20  

  • musetigerbrooke: A frog and a tiger? Sounds painful and reminds me of a filthy joke.
    love

    jonpaul: Ha, Ha! I'm your power animal. Beavers? You wish.
    love

    psychotic turkey: Funny!
    Is it just me or are the crazy animals around here multiplying?
    love

    Hellcat: Shoo, shoo. I knew it. The smell gave it away.
    love

    merlinprincesse: Not all beavers are Canadian you know. I just happen to live in the beaver state.
    love

    chandira: "Dachy encounters" sound horrific. At least it's not pugs.
    Yeah, killing the owl sucked. I had nightmares about it. I think we were trading some karma. Me and the owl that is.
    love

    By Blogger The Unknown, at 18:35  

  • Great stories. Now, I can't help but wonder what my power animal would be...probably a wolf.
    love


    http://jokestomakeyoulaugh.blogspot.com/

    By Blogger D. Maria, at 22:36  

  • Excellent, interesting post! Turtle is my totem, but lizards fascinate me and keep turning up in my life. I've been thinking that a lizard is sort of like a turtle without a shell.

    My sister had a huge bird, like a pelican or some other big sea-related avian, slam into her when she was on a
    Florida freeway. It smashed right through her windshield. She was lucky that it didn't kill her or make her wreck the car.
    xo
    'zann

    By Blogger 'Zann, at 00:25  

  • Your stories are a hoot! ;D and pretty incredible too!

    And I have no idea what my power animal is maybe an ostrich!!
    Whenever I get scared I'll stick my head in a hole too.

    By Blogger B*, at 02:35  

  • d. maria: Thanks. Hmm... I would say FOX. :-)
    love

    zann: Aren't lizards and turtles in the same family?
    Scary about your sis. Glad she is OK.
    love

    the artist formerly known as "sdit": A "hoot"! Har! Good one and thanks.
    love

    By Blogger The Unknown, at 15:36  

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