1 May and activity starts in the pot

It's been a while since I last wrote in my blog. Since I last wrote, I visited Houston, MN's "International Festival of Owls" to collect PPO's Lady Gray'l Award. A lot about the festival was written on the PPO Facebook pages but I forgot to post the updates in the blog - apologies! I'll cut and paste information to other posts for those who'd like to hear about the festival - it was amazing! Well, here we are at the start of the colder season in South Africa. May usually begins with a very cold spell - a sign for us to haul out the extra blankets and jackets. Today, however, feels like spring - no, in fact summer. And because of this inconsistency in the weather, we are getting frequent visits from Pappa and Pot Plant Owl - two or three times a night, lots of mating calls and of course the scraping in the pot plant. At the moment, they are using the far pot plant on the balcony, but hopefully they switch to the usual one come nesting time. I think we may well see an earlier breeding season this year, should this warmer weather continue. Other Spotted Eagle Owls have been known to have chicks in Johannesburg and surrounds in June and July, so perhaps PPO will join them for an earlier season this year. Other news is that we've got a rescue Border Collie puppy who's now approx 7 months old. His name is Destin and he was found emancipated with layers of burns all over his tiny body (hot oil or boiling water was thrown over him). We've had him now for a few weeks and he's doing well. Pappa has seen Destin - not sure if PPO has met him yet. Destin tends to stay indoors at night and has seen the owls but isn't concerned with them - unlike old 'Yaps' from next door. Come breeding season, Destin will spend a lot of time with our family who live close by, so that Pappa doesn't feel the need to target practice him, and Destin doesn't 'play' with any roaming chicks. So far, so good. And if the recent activities on the balcony are anything to go by, neither human nor puppy will deter the owls from nesting on the balcony - fingers crossed!

Our family visits

Sat 28 Jan: In the early hours of this morning, I heard Pappa hooting on the balcony. I peeped through the curtains and saw him in the pot plant - shuffling his feet and hooting, and looking at PPO on the far side of the balcony. She caught sight of me, and flew off to the neighbour's roof, and Pappa followed.
Just before I turned away from the window, I heard the familiar hiss of the chicks. I l...ooked at the pot plant and the first chick flew in, and landed in the pot. The second chick flew in and landed on the balcony pillar behind the pot.
For about 5 minutes, I watched as the chicks took it in turns to jump into the pot and scratch around in the soil - almost like chickens. When they had enough, the flew to one of the pillars and looked out over the wetland.
I can't tell the difference in the two chicks from appearance anymore. One is still a lot more vocal and continued to beg for food, while looking towards PPO and Pappa.
The parents flew off to roost, leaving the chicks on the balcony for a few more minutes. Eventually, they too, flew away to sleep.
I'm thrilled to have seen the entire family, and to know that they are safe and sound, and doing well.

19 January and decision on the proposed development

Pot Plant Owl's wetland is saved!

This morning we received notification from the Government Department who reviewed the developer's appeal against the original decision. This is what we received:

Please be advised that following consideration of an appeal in respect of this matter the MEC, Ms Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, has decided to dismiss the appeal due to the following:



1. The proposed development will potentially impact negatively on the wetlands present on site.

2. The mitigation measures suggested in respect of the proposed development are not adequate to address potential impacts to the river system and wetlands present on site.

3. Authorisation was denied with due process and compliance with applicable legislation and policies including the Department’s Gauteng Ridges Policy which states that ridges are ecologically sensitive and therefore should be protected against transformation that will negatively impact on such ecologically sensitive biodiversity.



At this time, Allan and I would like to once again thank each and every one of you who signed the petition to stop the development on the wetland. Thank you to all of you who have shown support and offered assistance. We really appreciate it.

What happens now, we do not know. We are looking to offer our assistance to the developer to rehabilitate the wetland, and turn it into something indigenous and safe for the creatures who call it their home.

Will keep you updated.

One of our chicks visit

That little hissing sound drew my attention away from my book to our garden. At first I couldn't see it, until, there, tucked behind a tree branch, I spied one of our chicks.

The chick stood confidently on the wall, looking up at our balcony and doing its delightful 'begging' for food - hissing and bopping its head.

It's virtually impossible to say with any certainty which chick it was, but I have a feeling who it may have been.

Lovely to see a chick on its own, and hunting now in our gardens.

Mid Jan 2012 and start over

The New Year is well and truly upon us, and I must say that I am looking forward to what lies ahead. I approach each new year with mixed feelings - glad to be seeing the back of any difficult times, and excited at the prospect of starting over.

And that's always good - starting over. Allowing yourself a new beginning to forget the mistakes you may have made (and hopefully from which you've learnt a lesson), and begin afresh.

Nature does this all the time with simple ease. Pot Plant Owl and Pappa start over with new little chicks each year. I don't believe PPO will worry this year about the unhatched egg (Shelly) from 2011, thereby preventing herself from laying more eggs this year.

Yet humans worry all the time, and often fall into the trap of only starting over at the dawn of a new year, or a major event in our lives.

Why do we do that?

Why not start each each DAY anew? Forget about what happened yesterday, and give yourself the permission to start over today and make a positive change.

Diet didn't work yesterday? Start over today.
Screamed at the kids last night? Start over today with a calmer attitude.
Didn't find time to exercise yesterday? Don't wait until 'next week' or 'tomorrow' to exercise. Just give yourself permission to start over today.

Let's learn from Nature around us. Our owl family will just start over, and enjoy each day without worrying about what has past, what might have been, what can go wrong in the future.

How refreshing it will be to develop a mindset and habit like that!

So let's start right this minute, and have yourselves a great day!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

From us all in 'Pot Plant Owl' land, I'd like to wish you all a very Blessed Festive Season and Happy Holidays.

Our owl family have been very active in the immediate area, over the past few days. We've seen both chicks hissing and bopping their heads - Timka, of course, is the loudest.

It's a wonderful Christmas gift to see how healthy they are, and to know they are doing well.

Merry Christmas everyone!

PPO Family Sighting - 15 December

19h15 Central African Time: Do you ever get that nagging 'feeling' that you need to stop whatever you are doing, and move to another spot, or do something else? It happens to me a lot.

Sometimes it occurs when I am right in the middle of doing something I enjoy, and the 'disruption' confuses me. An inner monologue ensues of "No, I want to carry on with..." counter-argued with "but you should do this or that now". Inevitably, the nagging 'feeling' wins, and I stop what I am doing and move on.

This happened last night while reading a riveting book. I eventually put my book down and 'followed the feeling' upstairs, and out onto the balcony. And lo and behold, my nagging 'feeling' was right on the mark.

There, standing in all her splendid glory, was Pot Plant Owl on the rooftop right next to ours. Standing on the balcony, I could hear Pappa hooting in the distance. I stood watching PPO and softly talking to her. It was my first opportunity to chat to her about her award, and what it means. She seemed to listen to me for a while - probably thinking 'What are you doing on MY balcony?'

After ten minutes went by, I wanted to leave her in peace, and again, the nagging 'feeling' kept me standing on the balcony watching. As soon as I resolved to remain on the balcony until PPO left, not one, not two, but three owls flew past me, past PPO on the rooftop and down into the wetland. Pappa, Merlin and Timka did a fly-by to say hello.

It was magical watching the two chicks, led by their strong hunter father. They fly with ease now, and if I didn't know any better, I would have assumed I had watched three adult owls fly past.

As soon as they flew past PPO, she turned her head, and watched them fly into the wetland. Shortly after, she too flew off the rooftop to hunt.

So my advice?

Listen to your nagging 'feelings', your 'intuition', your 'sixth sense' your 'inner voice'or whatever label you see fit to use.

You are guaranteed to experience something of benefit to you.

I certainly did!