More decoration than decoy, the owl did not seem to take its job seriously, leaning against the fence like a summer hire in the last week of August. The sparrows saw a slacker and hopped around under the awning, cracking seeds against the pavement, skittering about the dogs’ water bowl, beating the heat with their open-beaked bird pant. But the end of summer owl had a message for me: eat all the raspberries, go swimming, go barefoot. What does the end of summer owl say to you?
Elizabeth Paul 
This end of the summer owl reminds me of the chidlhood pleasures of the magazine “Highlights for Children,” in particular a zig-zaggy line drawing that housed hidden objects, like a rabbit, a spoon, or a basketball. The magazine offered a welcome distraction as I waited in the orthodontist’s office to get my braces tightened. I was always so disppointed if another child with a bad overbite had spolied the picture by circling the hidden opbjects. In this drawing I spot a bird sitting on a nest on the left eye and a breaching whale sending up spray on and around the left ear. . .
LikeLiked by 1 person
I actually played that game with this drawing. I saw surf boards, perforated paper edge, coffee beans, and orange segments. Stas saw an old shark where you saw a whale. My mom and I used to play this game by scribbling randomly on a memo pad and then finding and outlining what we saw.
LikeLike
Wait, summer ended? Tee hee. I loved finding this today and thinking back on summer. I totally feel the “Highlights” reference, too!
LikeLike