My morning wakeup call arrives courtesy of an owl. It’s odd that such a muffled hoot will pull me from a sound slumber, but then again it seems fitting.

Up until now, I presumed the owl lived in a nearby tree, like in a neighbors backyard to be able to hear it so clearly. This morning, I stepped out on the deck, letting the dogs have their first run at the new day and could hear the hoot hoot, hoot hoot, but was surprised to realize it was coming from the woods across the street.

Living here and being surrounded by trees it’s easy to become fascinated with woodland creatures, but the owl captures my attention. I’m not a collector of anything specific, but if I’m out shopping and see a whimsical looking owl, there’s a high probability it’s coming home with me. That was the case last December when I spotted colorful woodland creatures made from curled, wood shavings designed to hang on a door in place of a wreath. Years ago, I bought a fox, but for 2026 it was the owl that won me over.

I waiting until January, to hang it on the front door, as a reminder to Texans it’s supposed to be winter and loved it! There’s some protection from the overhang of the roof, but if it starts to rain, I bring it inside so it’s feathers don’t get wet.

About a week ago, I stepped outside to go to the mailbox and on my way back I saw the owl hanging on the front door and grinned. Before returning inside, I paused to look at the intricate details of how the owl was made and that’s when I heard the voice. It was that inner voice that dwells deep within and we each have our own name for it. The author Louise Hay refers to it as her inner ding, which is fun to say!

The voice spoke softly, yet firmly and instructed me to bring the owl inside. It didn’t make sense because they were forecasting rain later in the week, but not for a couple of days. I stopped rationalizing and lifted the owl from it’s hook to bring it in with me. I hung it on a small hook above a built-in countertop and started walking toward the back of the house, but within seconds, I heard something fall.

Walking through the house to investigate the sound, I was shocked to find the owl laying face down on the countertop! The piece of burlap twine used to hang it had come unglued and that’s when it all made sense. It only fell a few inches from where it was hanging inside, opposed to several feet from it’s place on the front door.

I’m not sure it would have survived falling from the door to the porch, so I’m relieved that I listened to my inner voice and obeyed, or as Louise Hay would say, “Trust your inner ding!”

Feature Photo by Barbara Burgess on Unsplash