It was almost midnight on a dark October night
The leaves were beginning to turn and it was cool but with still air
Dark silence was broken by an owl hooting
I stepped outside to listen
He seemed to be in the nearest big tree
It was too dark to see him
A second owl further away was answering his call
I listened intensely for about twenty minutes
I recorded the sounds on my phone
A quick search online revealed a guide to owl sounds on youtube
I was able to compare the sounds and identify them as great horned owls
Unfortunately I could not tell what they are saying
I wonder how long it will be before somebody develops an App for that
One that translates animal sounds into human language
Imagine the joy of talking to your pet dog
Listening to his barking thoughts
Maybe he could teach you new tricks
Like how to identify things by smell
You could ask him to perform clever tricks
Like fetching you a cold beer from the fridge
If I had that App today
I would tell the owl how sorry I was
For all the trees being cut down for housing developments
I would tell the owl I am sorry for all the pollution
Sorry for all the pesticides that disrupt the animal food chain
I wonder what the owl would have to say in return
Hoot hoot….hoot hoot
Hopefully that means “its OK I forgive you”