Owl Howl

The owls sound like monkeys here.  Of course, I didn't know that at first and felt that somewhere along the way I'd made a major turn towards the wrong continent.  It took me awhile to identify the species going 'a-hoot-hoot-hoot-a-ka-ka-ka" in the woods every evening, but with the help of friends, I did, and I feel more comfortable now.  It's  good to know things, as being unawares is disconcerting.  But knowing how the owls sound from a distance doesn't help a whole lot, really, because of course they are so quiet up close.  Several times I've seen owls while walking in the woods, but only after they've eyed me in dead silence as I lug myself a full quarter mile through thicket and ravine to where they happen to be inconspicuously perched only feet above my head.  And then, with a sudden and loud "Awooosh!!!" they fall through the air directly in front of me and make a bee-line to a tree only a short ways ahead.  They're laughing, I know, and it doesn't end there, because then — knowing they're now the object of my full and startled attention — they marvelously twist their heads around a full one-eighty degrees and STARE.  Yes, they do.  It's like a game they play, poking fun at my dumb self, stumbling.  I love it though.  As far as I'm concerned, they can poke all the fun they want!  I never felt so honored being teased in all my life!