I took my coffee to the porch overlooking the Strait of Belle Isle in northern Newfoundland. The early morning fog lifted to the sound of gulls, crows, and a fox sparrow. Their voices were so clear that the universe seemed otherwise empty. Then came a short-eared owl surveying land's edge for breakfast. It looked right at me from 20 feet away, gripping me with its stern gaze but not altering its course. “Most of the time I can count on your kind to leave me alone,” the owl was saying. “But I have learned never to let down my guard.”
Richard LeBlond is a retired biologist living in North Carolina. His essays and photographs have appeared in numerous U.S. and international journals.