Mourning walk

CW: Debbie Downer

On our morning walk, I saw something that at first appeared to be a bit of a tree branch in the road, before a quarter-mile mark. A few more steps and I realized it's a bird, a really big one. I thought it maybe a hawk, but had a sinking feeling in my gut. A couple of more steps confirmed that feeling: a big, gorgeous barred owl. It wasn't squished either, so I imagine he collided with a passing vehicle. The speed limit on my road is fairly slow and people do fly, despite knowing there are young children in several houses and elderly in many. But a collision at any speed with a farm or other work truck would probably yield the same result. It made me a bit sad, this was one of my regular visitors that caused me to worry about my fur babies and call them close, if we were outside together and I heard the call. Still, we all managed to co-exist peacefully for almost ten years, so of course I feel sorry for my oft-invisible friend.