a strange bird

Note: I'm having major problems uploading pics to the blog right now, but they'll be up here as soon as it's working!

I'm not sure how much energy I have to write this at the moment, but I am so entranced by the obsidian eyes of the little girl in these pictures, that I couldn't help but share her. This is my barred owl, Claire, another bird of prey that I care for at the local nature center. She is one thing I can always count on when I go there. She is constant, in a strange way, but Claire is strange. She's the "stoner owl," "weird owl," and "sleepy owl." Whenever I go to the Center, Claire is either sleeping or doing something strange that scares the living daylights out of me. I remember about two years ago, on a moist summer afternoon, I went over to Claire's enclosure to say hi to her, but I couldn't find her. Immediately panicking, I went inside her enclosure and searched every possible crevice (and there aren't that many). I went inside the building and asked if anyone knew where Claire was, which received some strange sideways looks, as if to say "she can't really fly, her cage is locked, how could she possibly go anywhere?" With no help gained there, I went back outside. I walked inside her enclosure, determined to find the wayward owl, and gasped in horror. My owl was DEAD?!?! Hanging from one of the perches made of tree branches was Claire. Oh my God, what was I going to do? She was limp, just hanging over the perch on her stomach, like a little slice of bacon on one of those bacon-microwaver trees! "Oh my Claire-Claire (what's what I call her) not you too! Why?" We had just had another owl die of old age and I was distraught. Then, I heard a "POP" (one of Claire's strange noises) and all of a sudden, Claire flipped up, like a break dancer kicking his feet up into the air and arching his back, but she did it kind of the opposite. No matter how you slice it, it was a strange sight. As it turns out, she was very hot and wanted to nap, but didn't feel like standing up while she slept as owls normally do. She has done this several times since then, but usually she will give me a one-eyed message, turning her head to face me, as if to say "I'm alive, now let me go back to sleep." And then, she does just that. This girl has got personality. That's my Claire!