Planned trips are always the best way to go, especially when planning vacations, but sometimes the little unexpected side trips are the most interesting. Such was the case with a welcomed adventure into some of the Rio Grande Valleys' back country. Early one summer my brother-in-law, knowing our love for nature, took my son and I far off the beaten path to an abandoned hunting camp. Probably unused for the last ten or more years, the camp still revealed the remains of human habitation--a rundown shack, an old rusty faded green bus with jammed doors, and a trail that led to the vine-covered out-house. The mesquite trees and vines made getting into this still sturdy one-seater very difficult, but well worth the effort. Often Old out-houses are home to many woodland creatures and this one was no exception. I directed my flashlight down the well-worn dark hole. To our delight we discovered a mother barn owl with five little owlets nervously looking back at us. Even under the bright Texas morning sun the only light getting to that four foot square structure was through the moon shaped hole in the door and some of the loose-fitting boards in the back. With the help of my flashlight I was able to take a few photographs. The mother was on her back with her talons aimed up at me and her wings spread wide over her babies to protect them. After she was removed up through the hole with her talons clamped tightly to my cap, I managed a few more pictures. Then holding her by her legs, I gently rubbed her head and gingerly lowered her back to her babies. With a little difficulty and a few scratches, we quietly backed out of the little shack leaving that beautiful mother and her babies safe and secure. That mother owl was ready and willing to give her life for her young, and that reminded me of how our Creator gave His life for us so that we might live. Be sure to take advantage of every opportunity you can to get out in nature and see what the Creator has done for you.
- Uncle Burney ("The Builder" January, 2003)
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