Barn Owl

Yesterday I heard Barko making some commotion (even more than usual) from the backyard. When I went to check it out, I saw there was a smallish animal by the side of our garage. Barko was wildly running in circles around it, barking his unhappiness at having his territory invaded. The animal had the strangest face, that it took me awhile to even identify what type of animal it was. First I thought a possum, but no. A rat? Hopefully not! "Is it a cat??" I asked Kaelyn? I ran inside to get my camera (yes, leaving my daughter outside alone with a crazed dog and an unidentified wild animal). While I was gone, the animal flew (AH HA! Must be from the bird family!) across the yard with Barko in hot pursuit. Kaelyn spoke up, "I think it's an owl. I am a bird expert." She must be, because it was a Barn Owl (verified by Google). It hissed at Barko a few times and then flew off, landing on our fence post. Barko, ran around a few times, very proud that he had done his job and cleared his yard of any dangerous tresspassers, then returned to the house to take a nap in the warmth.