"It was late one winter night,
long past my bedtime,
when Pa and I went owling.
There was no wind.
The trees stood still
as giant statues.
And the moon was so bright,
the sky seemed to shine."
~Jane Yolen
When I was growing up, I loved reading Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. Now it is a favorite winter story of my children, and it even inspired us to go out on an owling walk at our local arboretum led by a professional owler. It was a fun way to spend a cold January evening.
In this beautifully illustrated childrens' story, a young girl and her father go out into the snow late at night to call the owls and possibly catch a glimpse of one. They crunch along through the snowy forest calling out "Whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooo!" until a great horned owl starts calling back. Finally, with a lot of patient waiting, silence, and hope, they see the owl in the trees. Yolen says in the dedication of the book that her husband took all their children owling and their grandchildren too!
I needlefelted this wool wall hanging of a young owler going out in the snowy night with her lantern to find the great horned owl. You can see more pictures of it here on my Etsy shop at:
"When you go owling
you don't need words
or warm
or anything but hope...
The kind of hope
that flies
on silent wings
under a shining
owl moon."
