• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Art of Doing Stuff
menu icon
go to homepage
  • HOUSE
  • COOKING
  • GARDEN
  • HOW-TO
  • EXTRA
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • HOUSE
    • COOKING
    • GARDEN
    • HOW-TO
    • EXTRA
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » More Stuff

    Owl Season Has Arrived

    January 24, 2025 by Karen 21 Comments

    Pin1
    Share
    Email
    1 Shares

    If you hung an owl box when I suggested, it's time for you to gather a mountain of snacks and stare at it until your neighbours call the police.

    Mating season has arrived for the Eastern Screech Owl. I've mentioned before that these owls aren't in a particularly stable relationship.

    But it works for them.

    There are 2 owls that use this owl box; Mr. Snacks and Mrs. Snacks and if you haven't heard of them before, read this post so you're caught up.

    Mr. Snacks is quite committed to their relationship and home life while Mrs. Snacks will disappear for weeks or months at a time. All winter Mr. Snacks has been in his owl box in a tree just outside my kitchen window.

    Every day. Every single day. No gallavanting.

    Enter my friend Andrea. Andrea made plans to visit one morning last week. She made plans to visit Mr. Snacks, but arranged the visit through me. Dumb move because of the morning she arrived, Snacks was on walkabout for the first time since about Halloween.

    He was gone.

    Andrea and I stared at each other for about 4 hours and then she went home. Upon arrival she texted me to ask if Snacks showed up.

    No.

    Andrea texted me the next morning to ask if he showed up.

    No.

    Would you like to save this stuff?

    We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.

    I woke up early Thursday morning, around 5:30 a.m. and could barely see the outline of Mr. Snacks in the tree during the dark of pre-dawn. Feeling relief, I went back to bed for another 7 hours. The first thing I did after my encore wake-up was take a look at the owl box.

    I was met with the perturbed, bordering on miserable look, of the recently returned Mrs. Snacks. She doesn't like me. See for yourself in the photo at the top of the post.

    On Friday the box was empty again so I took advantage of the situation by climbing into a tree in -8 C weather.

    Last week I bought a camera that fits inside the roof of the box. Today I installed it. My hands are still cold. You can't maneuver a miniature screwdriver for a mini video camera while wearing mittens.

    Now I wait until one of them comes home and hope they aren't offended by the redecorating. I also threw in a new handful of dry leaves to make it more appealing for a home birth.

    The company I got my owl box from seems to be on hiatus, this is the closest to it, which you can get on Etsy.

    You'll be the first to know when one of them comes back.

    I need snacks.

    More MORE Stuff

    • Today's Puzzle: 72% Chance of Greasefire
    • Turtles Can Fly, and Other June Discoveries
    • The Easter Story
    • An Update on - The $25 Eyelash Growing Serum

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      The maximum upload file size: 512 MB. You can upload: image, audio. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here

    1. Sabina

      February 19, 2025 at 7:13 am

      Yes, they haven't updated their owl box website so I finally convinced Mr. MacGuyver that he should build us one. In the fall we were meandering through a gorgeous property for sale where friends of ours were holding the estate sale when I spotted what I discerned to be an owl box laying on a pile of something so I asked if I could have it and they gave it to me. I did some research when we got home and I was correct. It needs some renovating or at least it can be taken apart and used for a template but it never got done :(
      Do you think it's too late if we get it together and hung over the next couple weeks?

      Reply
    2. Jody

      January 27, 2025 at 5:28 pm

      I can’t wait to see your photos of the interior. Just like Canadian House and Home.

      Reply
    3. Sonce

      January 25, 2025 at 11:53 pm

      I’m excited for this year’s owl adventures.

      Reply
    4. Theda

      January 25, 2025 at 7:55 pm

      That picture of you would be a good puzzle! : )

      Reply
    5. Other Karen

      January 25, 2025 at 2:40 pm

      Knock, knock. Who’s there? Owl. Owl who?
      (Hahahaha! That’s the whole joke!)
      Owl be perched here on in the edge of my seat awaiting the continued adventures of the Snacks’ family.

      Reply
    6. Mary W

      January 25, 2025 at 1:27 pm

      Very exciting news - can't wait for this years photo rich adventures!

      Reply
    7. Peggy Marchesani

      January 25, 2025 at 12:50 pm

      Your neighbors are very lucky.
      Ditto on all the excitement that the Snacks are back. Great that you have a new camera to see what they're up to, and babies if and when. Baby those poor hands. So I'm just wondering what the big black thing hanging from a chain on your tree is. If it's a feeder, did you buy it or make it? Details, please.
      Thanks for the laughs - needing them these days! :)

      Reply
      • Jan in Waterdown

        January 25, 2025 at 11:34 pm

        I just enlarged the photo…. it’s a hanging light. Looks very cool.

        Reply
    8. Linda in Illinois

      January 25, 2025 at 11:38 am

      Oh Karen. I am so excited to hear about the owl adventures.!! I can’t wait to see the new baby snacks when he arrives 🥚
      Keep us posted. 🎉

      Reply
    9. Ann Augustine

      January 25, 2025 at 11:20 am

      A group of photographers stalk the Bald Eagles of North Park near Pittsburgh. They say the female leaves for months and if they get busy fortifying the nest when she returns in February, they intend to bring eggs/chick into their home.

      Reply
      • Karen

        January 25, 2025 at 1:44 pm

        Good to hear other female fowl fly the coop. Owls don't actively form nests. They don't bring sticks or soft downy pieces or anything. So you have to throw in a few leaves or shavings to make it more enticing for them. ~ karen!

        Reply
    10. christine Hilton

      January 25, 2025 at 10:22 am

      I got one too! He showed up and then disappeared but l remember that happening to you so fingers crossed he comes back!

      Reply
    11. Kat

      January 25, 2025 at 9:54 am

      I am extremely excited to hear about this. Made my day!

      Reply
    12. Heather Lamb

      January 25, 2025 at 9:41 am

      I’ve missed you Karen! And the Snacks family as well. However, I hope a divorce is not imminent, as the Mrs. seems a bit ticked off.

      Reply
    13. Cara

      January 25, 2025 at 9:28 am

      Lovely post and such good news! Keep up posted, for sure!

      Reply
    14. Deb from Maryland

      January 25, 2025 at 9:10 am

      Great news! They have common sense, coming back. They recognize your surroundings as a perfect place to set up house. Even if you keep staring at them.

      Reply
    15. Hettie

      January 25, 2025 at 8:26 am

      Looking forward to following the adventures of the owl family. Thanks!

      Reply
    16. Nan

      January 25, 2025 at 7:47 am

      Exciting news! Thanks for your dedication!

      Reply
    17. Michelle B

      January 25, 2025 at 5:44 am

      Oooh, sweet! Thanks for the post on Mr. & Mrs. Snacks; I'm excited about your new camera. Whew, kudos on the installation at such frigid temps - ooh, your poor little fingers! Go Karen! I'm kicking myself for not installing my new owl box- well, I could be black & blue over the tasks I haven't finished. Never a dull moment.

      Reply
    18. Kathryn

      January 25, 2025 at 2:27 am

      She looks like such an old floozy. I wonder what he sees in her? So glad they're back though and looking forward to further updates. I adore owls. Watch yourself on that ladder girl.

      Reply
    19. RandyP

      January 25, 2025 at 12:55 am

      Proof that in Canada pretty things grow in trees. Happy that the owls are back in their own way and hope you get some satisfying pics.

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    SHOP ON AMAZON

    Use it 👆 to support my work. LEARN MORE

    My name is Karen Bertelsen and I was a television host. In Canada. Which means in terms of notoriety and wealth, I was somewhere on par with the manager of a Sunset Tan in Wisconsin.

    I quit television to start a blog with the goal that I could make my living through blogging and never have to host a television show again. And it’s worked out. I’m making a living blogging. If you’re curious, this is how I do that.

    So I’m doing this in reverse basically. I’m the only blogger who is trying to NOT get a TV show.

    More about me 👋

    Seasonal Articles

    • Today's Puzzle: Literature, SPF 30, & Processed Cheese
    • This Fruit Fly Trap Catches 25X More Than Your Bowl of Vinegar Does
    • Apple Watch Band Stuck? How to Remove It.
    • Cleaning Copper with Ketchup: A No-Rub Experiment
    • Garbage Apples, Jam Trauma, and the Beige Poppy Crisis
    • Creamy Pesto Pasta with Zucchini & Goat Cheese

    Popular Articles

    • This Is Where I Try To Buy Your Love
    • Guaranteed Crispy Sweet Potato Fries & Sriracha Mayo Dip
    • A Year Full of Pots: Win Sarah Raven's New Book
    • The Difference Between People Who Eat Mayo & People Who Eat Miracle Whip
    • Your FIRST look at my new kitchen in Canadian Living Magazine.
    • How to Print an Image on Wood.

    Footer

    as seen in

    About

    • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Social

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    1 shares