Tuesday, August 28, 2012

WHO Won the Giveaway?

Instead of announcing the winner to my one year blog's anniversary within a few days, it has turned into one week.  I put all the names into a straw bowl and my son drew forth a name and it is...

Wait, wouldn't you like to see my owl photos first? Sure, you would!  (Go ahead, scroll down and see if you won, but don't forget to come back and look at my owl photos!)
The blogger who won has a wonderful quote from the Book of Isaiah at the top of that blog:

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.


 
 
Can you possibly see how thrilled I was to be holding this owl on my arm?  (Richard took a closer view of the same owl in the first photo.)  It was a large owl but it was so light on my arm, the heavy glove seemed to weigh more.  Guess that is what is meant by as "light as a feather"!  And just to say, I am a lousy actress, you can tell just from my face if I like something or not, I can't hide my emotions! 
 
It's true that I see heart shapes everywhere but this is ridiculous!   This is a barn owl and is very common in many countries of the world.  Look at that face and those feathers!  This owl and the next one that I will show you were in the AWARE Tent.  I have written of AWARE before,  it is right beside where we park when we go on our walks at Arabia Mountain.  AWARE rescues injured animals from the wild, nurses them back to health and then releases them back into the wild after they have recovered.  Those that are not able to be released are used for educational purposes, like this owl above.  This beautiful creature's mate had been killed by a man with a shovel.  Neighbors saw what was going on and prevented this owl's death, but she was wounded and will never fly again.  This saddens me more than I can tell you.   http://awareone.org/  I have given you the link for AWARE if you would like to read more.
See the large talons, and this side view shows the beautiful feathers. 
Wait, until you see this next little fellow...
 
This is an eastern screech owl and is one of the smallest owls in North America. This one had been shot and also could never fly again.
Look how little it is compared to the barn owl! 
 
 
 WHO WHO WHO won the giveaway?  The winner of the $21.00 Amazon gift certificate is...
 
 
 
Connie from Nonnie's Random Thoughts!  Please contact me Connie, so that I may set up this Amazon gift for you!   www.nonniesmemoriesblogspot.com  Congratulations!
 
And a big thank you for all those who left a comment, there were 31 names in the straw bowl and I appreciate you all!
 
 
 

34 comments:

  1. AWARE sounds like a great group! We have a local wildlife rehab hospital with the vet school, that's where we take birds and squirrels that fall from nests.

    congratulations to Connie!

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    1. Dear Mimi,
      I am thinking of you today! Are you alright with this hurricane headed your way? Hope so!

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  2. Kay...

    The barn owl might be common, but I think it's uncommonly beautiful.
    Thanks for the great photos.

    Rosemary

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    1. Thank YOU for having that great photo of the barn owl on your blog yesterday! Great minds think alike!
      I love your blog, so many times you will have something on there that I am thinking about or am about to post. We must be sisters under the skin.

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  3. Congratulations to Connie. Thank goodness there are people who care enough to actually do something to help all those creatures who need it. I make donations, but they do the hard work. Lovely photos, Kay.

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    1. Thanks! And I took the close-up one of the barn owl! I think most of the other ones are all by Richard!
      Believe me, AWARE is much needed here.

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  4. oh my gosh such beautiful owls, owls are one of my favorite subjects to paint,

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    1. YES! And for anyone reading this comment, click on Laurie's blog and go back just a day or so ago from this date and look at her painting of a barn owl, it is so beautiful!
      Thanks for your comment, Laurie!

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  5. Congratulations to Connie. Love those owls. My Mom collected owls for years (not real ones!;>) Blessings- xo Diana

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Thanks, is that why her daughter is so wise?
      (Sorry messed up my reply and had to re type it)

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  6. YAY me! And a BIG thank you to Kay's son for pulling my name out of the straw bowl. The owl pictures are really beautiful. I have never actually seen one close up.

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    1. Congratulations on winning! And yes, it is hard to see owls in the wild up close even though you might hear them. Thrilling for me to see these owls.

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  7. Seeing these owl photos makes me feel like I won the giveaway! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE owls ~ then again, I'm sure you knew that. Hee hee. I felt sick when I read about that man beating an owl to death with a shovel. I mean seriously. Who on EARTH would do something so heinous? Makes me cry. I can hardly imagine more majestic creatures!!!

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    1. Hey Audrey!
      Of course you would love owls, since I LOVE them, then my soul sister in NC would love them too!
      It was sad to hear all the stories associated with these birds, we saw more in the Bird Of Prey show too.
      All were amazing to see so up close.

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  8. Oh, I love this, Kay! My face would be beaming, and I would have snapped 100 photos. I love barn owls; they have such a unique look to them. And that little one is adorable. I love AWARE, and all that they do to help these animals. We have organizations like that up here, too. Every place needs them. It's important.

    Congratulations to Connie!

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    1. Dear Martha,
      See my note to Audrey above, so you are my soul sister in Canada! (Along with Jane too!)
      I love AWARE too and all the good work that they do.

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  9. Owls galore! How delightful they are. And congrats to Connie!

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    1. Thanks, Debra! Owls Galore! Perfect, where were you when I was thinking of a good title for this post? :-)

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  10. Ooh, LUCKY YOU!!! I absolutely LOVE owls; they are such awesome, wonderfully-made birds. And yes, AWARE does wonderful work; it's tragic that people really are Nature's worst enemy.

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    1. We had never been to this Wildlife Festival but with all the birds, it was right up our alley.

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  11. Thank you for the wonderful pictures of wonderful birds! The comparison in size of the barn owl and the screech owl is quite amazing, isn't it.
    I remember your first post about AWARE well, and admire them for their work.
    Congrats to Connie :-)

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    1. Aren't the owls beautiful?
      And Meike, do you remember that I had the wrong website connected to AWARE and you had to let me know to connect it to the right one? Thank you, and I hope I did it right this time! ;-)

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  12. I have been close to a barn owl and some hawks but didn't have the opportunity to hold any of them. It must have been quite thrilling for you.

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    1. Hey Valerie!
      It Was a thrill! Can you tell by my face? :-)

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  13. What did they call Bar Owls before there were any Barns.....?
    Lovely pics again!

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    1. White Owl, Silver Owl, Demon Owl, Ghost Owl, Death Owl, Night Owl, Rat Owl, Church Owl, Cave Owl, Stone Owl, Monkey-faced Owl, Hissing Owl, Hobgoblin or Hobby Owl, Dobby Owl, White-breasted Owl, Golden Owl, Scritch Owl, Screech Owl, Straw Owl, Barnyard Owl and Delicate Owl.
      This info is from Wikipedia, but at this link http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1189
      which is the site for the Cornell University of Ornithology and is where I look up a lot of info on birds.
      And thanks for the photo compliments, I took the one of the close up of the barn owl!

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  14. How lucky are you!? I would love to see a Barn Owl close up. We have them in England but they are getting quite rare. Hedgerows are disappearing fast so their food source is doing the same. However, I believe that the Government has an initiative now, whereby farmers are requested to leave an edge all around their fields of uncut grasses etc. Sounds like a good idea to me.

    I loved the Screech Owl. So tiny and so cross looking but then if I had been shot, I wouldn't look too pleased either!

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    1. Now Pat, if you want to see a Barn Owl up close, you will have to come to the Wildlife Festival in late August in Rockdale County, Georgia!
      Loss of habitat is always a problem here, but I think the worst for these birds are humans.
      That little owl was adorable. Richard took a video and his head almost went all the way around!

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    2. I meant the owl's head almost went all the way around, not Richard's! GIGGLE GIGGLE

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  15. Great photos. I think they look really big. I know we have owls around here but I do not hear them. Smiles, Susie

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    1. Thanks for your comment! That owl on my arm looks so big but was so lightweight. Perhaps you would hear them if you were ever awake in the early hours of the morning!

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  16. I love that photo of you holding the owl - as you say, your delight really shows.

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    1. Thanks, Scriptor (John)!
      I was completely delighted.
      Glad to have you back! :-)

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