I heard the one right behind us in the treeline the moment we arrived
They quickly settled into a quiet cacophony, the overlapping hoo-HOO-hoo of two timbres

And it occurred to me, that while I had occasionally heard, or rarer yet seen, AN owl – that this was the first time I had ever experienced owls, plural
So, as I sat in the cold, still darkness, I savored the long moment for the special event that it was

Marveling at both their counterpoint, as much as how it barely carried over the noise from the cars on the road just visible on the ridge
Traffic heavier than I expected for a pre-dawn Saturday
While watching the moon reflect icy silver off the chokeberry bush