. any eye. I wondered if the animals noticed our passing ... not that there were any animals in hearing distance. The noise along the creek was loud. ...ids playing, moms yelling or chatting up the neighbors, motors running, men swearing at empty pans or exclaiming at a picker or a nugget ... LOUD ... no animals.At the carpark the few people still in attendance were unloading or loading, spreading rumors, or looking in the back of trucks to see what could be stolen. The 6 bags were piled by the. "My, my, you are not a mouse!"Chatty was surprised to see her nocturnal assailant was a very elderly owl who had mistaken her for one of the field mice that seemed to overrun the pasture every now and then. They were truly "a la carte" for hungry owls in the middle of the night.The apologetic owl released her with a quick retraction of his long, sharp claws."I am so sorry, little chipmunk. My eyesight is not what it used to be and I am very hungry."Chatty felt sorry for the old fellow because. I sure appreciate you taking time to help us with it too, all of you.”“While he’s doing that Hoot, I want to show you something up stairs,” Sharon said.“Better watch her Hoot, she’s fixin up that old up stairs room for her as an apartment and she’ll be having you hanging curtains and moving furniture around up there,” Mr. Robinson said, laughing as he opened the door to leave.“Oh Daddy,” Sharon laughed.“Mom, I’m gonna show Hoot my new place, OK?”“Sure Hon, you go right ahead. Hoot, when she. She had a third nip at the bottle as she wheeled into the drive, and across her back lawn saw the three-story rise of the Gothic Horror, the Pageant, the Zoo, Howard's Horny Haven, that house of gentle sensuality, of kindness, generosity. She got out carrying the bottle, leaving the key in the ignition and the car door open. She would take the bottle as a gift.At the latticework gate she paused, saw that even today the morning glories had vined higher on the wire fence. Soon enough they would.