Owl in the bathroom!

Oh yes, we had an owl in the bathroom. This incident happened about three weeks ago. It began with about one week of squatting in the fireplace. The little owl would come down to have a look around and Gigi would bark so it would then scramble back up the chimney. This noisy and messy routine was constant. It was messy because each time that the owl would make its way down the chimney or flap its wings, soot would come down and get all over the floor. Messy.

I think that the owl's eyes compliment our 30 year old bathroom tile.

What happened?

This little owl finally decided to escape from the confines of the chimney very early one morning. I think it was around 6:00am.

Gigi had been acting strange. She would jump off of the bed, run down the hallway, bark and come back to bark at me some more. I was so incredibly tired that all I could do was roll over and cover my head with the pillow. She jumped on the bed, she jumped off of the bed. Any normal person that was coherent might have probably realized that Gigi was trying to tell me something, but not me. I was irritated. She's been known to bark at spiders so I assumed that's what was happening. I opened the door and put her on the balcony, hoping that she would stop the incessant barking.

She didn't stop.

I rolled over, looked up at the ceiling and then it hit me...Gigi was trying to tell me something. I got up and opened the balcony door so that she could come back inside. She ran down hall and stood at the threshold of the bathroom door, barking.
I heard something drop on the floor in the bathroom. Next, I heard the sound of wings fluttering. I knew it. I knew that the owl was in there. Great. How am I supposed to catch it and get it out of the house without waking everyone up?

I grabbed a broom. With confidence, I went into the bathroom with the broomstick aimed toward the owl. Well, it did perch on the broomstick right away but not for long. It flew from the broomstick to the dryer, to the top of a shelf and then into the bathtub. I started to freak out a little.

Izabella woke up because of all of the noise that Gigi and I were making. She added to the noise by screeching whenever the owl flew from one side of the bathroom to the other. Gigi was barking, I was trying to keep the situation under control.

When the owl decided to sit on the side of the bathtub again, I grabbed a towel and picked it up. I didn't want to squish it so I wasn't holding it too tightly and then it dropped out of the towel onto the floor.

Gigi caught it and ran away with it in her mouth. Feathers were flying everywhere.

I yelled, "Gigi...put that down!" (yeah, like she's going to listen when she's got a real live toy to play with) The owl squirmed from the grip of her little jaws and flew back on top of our dryer.

I was at a loss.

Throughout these chaotic moments my husband remained in a deep sleep. I don't know how, but he did. I decided to wake him up so that he could help out.

"Wake up," I said as I nudged his shoulder. "The owl is in the upstairs bathroom."

Husband, "What? It is?"

"Yes! You haven't heard Iza and I screaming, running...or Gigi barking?! Oh, never mind. I need help."

So, he went upstairs and looked in the bathroom. Within minutes he had the owl wrapped snugly in the towel. We had a good look at it. It had a good look at us. Next, he took it to the balcony and let it go. The little owl quickly flew out of our sight. I don't blame it really, with all of the noise and commotion that we made.

On top of the dryer...

Why do owls keep coming in our house?

We're not really sure, but there's definitely a pattern. We do know that they nest in our attic and that this only happens during the summer. The previous owner of our home claims that it the owls sit on the chimney, get dizzy and fall down. I've noticed that they come in whenever it's really hot outside. Whatever the reason, they are known to make their presence in late June through July. We do have plans of putting a metal screen around the top of the chimney and haven't done it yet because it's too high to reach. We'll have the house painted soon and when there's scaffolding available, we'll have the screens put on. Although it's always interesting to have an encounter with an owl, I'd prefer not to have catch it.

We need more than a ladder to get to the top of the chimney!

Photos from our first visits last summer...

Related Links:

Owl in the House!

Owl in the Fireplace

Little Owl (Athene Noctua)

Little Owl (Wikipedia)

L is for Lizard

Well we've had quite and exciting week with the creatures around here. The kids have a new routine that includes catching as many lizards as they can before coming in for the night. Last night we had 3 lizards in a jar. Today we have 2. The kids always let them out in the morning so that our lizards can thrive. It's funny because sometimes when the kids grab them, their tails break off. Now they can differentiate between a new lizard at the house and one that they've had before because so many are missing their tails. Foti is such boy when it comes to these things. He loves to watch the broken tail flip around in the palm of his hand while giggling, that is, if a tail breaks off. I think it's gross but, hey, I'm not a boy -so what do I know.
Speaking of lizards, I finally saw the big green one that everyone has been screaming about. Ok, so it's not as big as an iguana, but it's half the size of one. It's very green and lives somewhere on the property. I'm glad that I was able to see it so I can acquaint myself with it, perhaps when I'm weeding the garden since it seems to hang out there. I promise to snap a picture when it comes out of hiding.
Tonight we also have a gross spider making a web inside of a water bottle...taking up residence is Foti's room. It's definitely got to go in the morning. I don't want that thing getting out.
And finally, the owl visited us again. He decided to visit us late in the afternoon. The kids were thrilled. Gigi didn't stop barking for about 15 minutes after that incident. As I was talking with a friend last night she mentioned that my house sounds like a zoo. I agreed.

Over the last week we've had a few visitors from back home. First, we had Foti's Nona (Godmother) visit on Saturday. He was very excited and couldn't wait to show her everything about his new house. That visit was short and hopefully we'll be able to visit her in her family's village before she leaves Greece.

Our next visitor was Pete. Pete has been a friend of ours for the better part of our marriage. He's visiting southern Greece for a few weeks and we were lucky enough to have him travel up north so that he could spend a few days with us before he was on to his island hopping and family visits. It was great to have a friend from home here for a few days. He brought me a Hershey's Symphony bar and Jalapeno seeds for my garden. The kids were thrilled because he gifted them with fruit snacks and Fruit Roll-ups.

It seems that he arrived just in time for the summer heat to turn up and we all suffered together. I kept joking about how shiny we all were and how Greece has given us such a healthy glow...he'd roll his eyes.

Pete was also lucky enough to meet our little owl. It ventured down the fireplace to have a peek at us earlier in the day and then at around 2:00 am as we were enjoying a conversation it decided to join us. Pete was more than happy to help me lead the owl out of the house. It flew into a window, bump into walls and finally ended up behind the TV. The little guy seemed exhausted. Pete wrapped it in a towel and took it to the window so that it could fly out and that's exactly what it did. It took a minute to assess the situation before it actually took off. I'm very surprised at how calm the owl was when Pete picked him up. It didn't seem alarmed at all. That was really cool.

The next day we took Pete into the city. We actually did a tour of the city by car because it was so hot. He also suggested that he'd prefer it that way! It was just so hot!

So we drove around and stopped for something to eat. On our way out of the city we stopped at some landmarks at the sea front. We got out of the car to take a few pictures and buy some water.

The kids enjoyed running around the statue of Alexander the Great.

And then they just ran around the park area. They had a blast.

When we were walking back to the car we noticed police officers ticketing cars that were illegally parked and one was even equipped with a power drill/screw driver. As they ticketed vehicles for being parked illegally they were also removing license plates. I can't say that our timing couldn't have been more perfect as our car was next in line for the punishment. We won't be stopping there for a quick picture again without looking at all of the signs. It didn't seem like an illegal parking spot as we waited for the spot when we were parking and there were cars parked all the way down the street. But then again we're in Greece and anything goes. We've got to be more careful. It would have really stunk if we had to go to retrieve our plates at the police station...we know because we've already done it! That's another story...

So Pete left yesterday afternoon and now I'm trying to catch up with everything that I've neglected over the last few days. Until my next post...

It's 3:00pm Sunday afternoon and about 10 minutes ago I was reading news online. No, really...it was news. Anyway, I heard a little tapping near the fireplace screen, looked over and sure enough-our little owl friend was looking at me.
I think that it's interesting that now this little guy knows exactly how to navigate its way out from behind the screen and straight to his favorite spot, the curtain rod. I think that we're becoming part of this little bugger's routine. I didn't scream this time. In fact, I just turned and looked at it and said, "hello! you're back?" I calmly walked toward it and he flew away toward a window and actually bumped into it. After taking a moment to regain its strength it flew over my head and into the kitchen. I opened the balcony doors and then Gigi started to bark. Alexandra just giggled and pointed. After another minute or so, he flew out the doors that I had opened for him.

I think that I'm starting to like this little guy. He looked directly into my eyes and was actually really, really cute. I mean...really cute. He's about the size of a small pineapple...I could squish him with a hug, if that were possible. I didn't take a picture today because I think that might have freaked him out.
These experiences have been extremely helpful for us because the kids aren't afraid of them anymore. Foti is thrilled because Harry Potter has an owl and he just loves Harry.
We decided not to close the flue since this little guy can't get back up the chimney. We don't need to have a trapped owl in there, that could be quite a mess. So, what are our options? Do we just accept his little pop-in visits and let him out? What would happen if we left for a few days and it came in? I suppose that until we put a screen over the opening of the chimney, we'll just have to be mindful of our little friend. I just love that it's a baby. I'm wondering if there's anyway that I could give it a treat or have it come closer to me. I'll definitely have to do a little research to learn more about him. Let's see how long it will take before he visits again.

Owl in the House!

Just as we had suspected, the owl was still in the fireplace today. We left the house for about 5 hours today and when we returned I warned Izabella as we unlocked the door. I said, "now be careful, that owl might be loose inside". Sure enough, as soon as we opened the door it swooped down over us from the living room into the kitchen where we'd just opened the door. Of course, we couldn't have been as cool as Foti was 2 days before. We had to scream, naturally. So we screamed....then we giggled. I was taking pictures and I think that I freaked the little owl out. Oh, I forgot to mention...it was just a baby. How sweet is that? So, there we were screaming and it flew over us so that we could scream some more.
Next, it flew over us to find its comfortable curtain rod. It sat there for a few minutes and then Kosta came in. He talked to the owl again and went to open the door. Honestly...he's good with the owl! I told one of my sisters this story and she dubbed him the "owl whisperer". I can only laugh. That was great!
Anyway, Kosta pointed toward the door and told the owl that it needed to leave and that the door was open for him. The little owl flew over us again and we screamed.
The little owl decided to take a break on top of the kitchen cupboards again before finally leaving. (Awww...how cute)

After a brief rest on the cupboard it left the house. Now how's that for excitement? It took the kids a little while to settle down. They were so excited. I was too, but I couldn't help screaming like a fool. (I'm the same with mice) I guess that I was nervous watching those claws fly over me and the kids.
I haven't found any droppings but the fireplace is a mess. I guess that it'd be a good time to clean out the ashes...

Owl in the fireplace

One of our owl friends just after leaving the railing...always watching us!

It seems that during the last few months our owl friends want to get to know us a little better. They've been much more visible will even pose for the camera. It helps because until now, Izabella has been completely terrified of the owls and their "mewing" sounds at night. Their calls can be heard loud and clear since they live in our attic and sit on railings right outside of our bedrooms. Usually, they'll fly away when I open the doors in the morning. Then, I run for the camera but they're usually too far away for me to get a good shot. I really need a telephoto lens! Anyway, as they've grown comfortable with our presence we're starting to learn a lot about them and the kids are starting to understand them rather than fear them.

On Tuesday night the relationship with our feathered friends grew a little closer yet. As we were finishing our late dinner on our balcony the kids left the table one by one. Foti was tired so he went inside. It was almost 9:00pm...that late. I fear that we're already subconsciously submitting to the Greek summer schedule with slow mornings and late nights. Anyway, Foti had gone into the house and the next thing that we hear is, " there's an owl in the fireplace!" Naturally, we all ran into the house and sure enough, there was an owl fluttering around behind the screen in the fireplace. My camera was on the table but I didn't reach for it quick enough since the owl was frightened by us and went back up the chimney. I really didn't believe that it had gone all the way back up or if was even possible but we watched a movie after that and there was no sign of the it so we figured that it was gone. We all went to bed shortly after our movie, except for Kosta, he works into the "wee" hours of the night in his office.

Wednesday morning when we woke up, Kosta told us that he came upstairs at around 4:00am and the light fixture was rocking back and forth. When he looked a little further he noticed an owl sitting on a curtain rod, just intensely looking at Kosta. So, my husband went to the door and opened it. He said that he "explained" to the owl that he needed to go out the door and outside where he belongs. He walked toward the owl and then it flew over his head into the kitchen where the door was open and waiting for his exit. The owl rested on the kitchen cupboards...walked across the tops of them and then swooped down and flew right out the door-just as Kosta had asked him to. He didn't take any pictures because he just didn't think of it. I know, I'm the one with the photo obsession so I can't expect him to think of taking a picture.
The owl left a little mess for me to clean. There were ashes scattered around the fireplace and a few droppings around the living room. Our friend must have been enjoying himself inside for a few hours.

This morning, my husband reported that the owl had been in the fireplace again last night. The proof was in the ashes scattered around the fireplace again . Great, now I have to clean up after 3 kids, a husband, a dog and now...an owl! I know, we should have closed the flue but that would be to easy and a lot less exciting. We'll make sure that it's out of the chimney today and then close it later. So, I'm wondering why the owl wants to come back in. Kosta says it's because there was a plate of food left on the table and it was probably eating the night before and wanted to come in for more. Maybe. Maybe it just wants the thrill of being chased, breaking away from his mundane life in the attic, who knows. I know that I think that it's really neat but also a pain since owl droppings in the house just aren't cool.