Good ideas flying after bad.

Night vision or vision of night? (1872.Alice Liddell/Cameron/USPD:pub.date/Commons.wikimedia.org)

From out of nowhere they fly at you like bats in the night.

Frantic attempts to wave them off only results in feeling foolish moments later.

Venezuela President bans U.S. politicians from entering the country. (CBS news.)

Can we do that, too? Please? 

Life without politicians. Only a dream.

Do you ever wonder what keeps them up at night?

Every neighborhood has concerns about predators: odd spooky creatures who suddenly appear out of nowhere.

Like they’re hoping for a lift of something.

Then they’re gone just as quickly. As silently.

Maybe this explains some of it:

People are nothing like owls.

Obviously. Owls are covered with feathers everywhere while people only wear feather coverings occasionally.

Although, teenagers of both seem anxious to leave the nest before they are ready and end up getting grounded.

Despite human grumbles in disagreement, owls have a more difficult walk home. Some nests in those giant California redwood trees are 30 stories up. One foot in front of the other hoping to get there before mom finds out.

(Do owl parents screech about how far they had to walk as owlets? The equivalent to human parents droning on about walking miles in the snow to school?)

Moms are such nags. Always watching. “Eyes in the back of their heads.”

Owl moms practically do as their heads can swivel some 270 degrees. If humans tried that, they’d cut off the blood supply to their heads. Adaptations with bone structure and blood vessel design allow owls to twist about.

(Human moms don’t do too badly with instinct and video monitors: less twist, more shout. )

“I told you to stay put while I was gone. Who did you think I was talking to?”
(screenshot.PBS.org/wnet.nature series.Owl Power)

Parents, while annoying no doubt to both kids and owlets, are welcomed sometimes.

Like when arriving with groceries.

A couple of owl moms in the video link below look eerily like that recent Dallas mom flying out of her car to stop a criminal. (“It’s a school zone!”) Courageous moms don’t back down when defending their babies against several arctic wolves, a much larger bird of prey, or some big fool in a high speed police chase.

Just as fascinating as clips of cute little owls, is the photography of flight and the scientific explanations of biological adaptations allowing owls to do what they do.

Their scooped heads function like satellite dishes and along with feather design bordering their faces, sounds are channeled to owl’s ears (which may be located at different levels on the skull) allowing owls to locate prey even under ground or snow drifts.

Snow limits their sharp sight, so hearing is critical for survival during winters like this one.

Oddly, both owl and human moms try to keep their young out of the rain. Not being water-loving ducks, owl’s feathers aren’t any more waterproof than designer clothes.

“But, Mom, we’re fine.” UK Barn Owl siblings, Luna and Lilly, live free.(screenshot.http: video.pbs.vi:wnet:nature:Owl Power)

Who couldn’t be intrigued with engineering, physics, technology, the scientific method, nature-based product designs, and, of course, biology after watching Nature’s “Owl Power” episode?

PBS “Owl Power”. Nature series VIDEO

(“Owl Power” only available on-line until March 18, 2015. Then you may have to buy it.)

Gee. Sounds like education without walls.

None of that “Oh, science is all kept in room 101, math in 213, reading and writing sandwiched in there somewhere – with fine arts in the basement.”

Kids might get interested in science if they stared it in the face and it looked back. Or reached out and touched it – and it pushed back. Noticed it everywhere everyday rather than decoding and answering predetermined questions trapped and pinned in texts.

Knowledge all together. 

But that’s just a dream flying in the dark.

Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.

A nod to Cecilia Gunther (The Kitchen Garden) who recently had an unsettling close encounter with an owl. Perhaps hers was just an owl recognizing a kindred soul.

Mysterious creatures of the night. Not so unlike.(1912Jeanne Paquin evening gown/ Concise History of Costume and Fashion/USPD: pub.date/Commons,wikimedia.org)

---

Discover more from Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge

Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.