An Owl, You Say?

We have an owl in our yard, or so I'm told. I didn't get a chance to hear it, but Terri and her Moms did. This (the owl in our backyard) is notable for a few reasons:

1 - In all of our efforts to get Lydia to speak/communicate/respond to our questions, our first success was having her hoot like an owl. I know that sounds cruel and/or stupid, but consider that she has a stuffed owl puppet she loves, a picture of a cartoon owl stuck to her wall, and a pop-up book (that she likes to tear) about owls - so we taught her what an owl says, and now she can repeat it back to us. It should also be noted that her owl impression sounds suspiciously similar to her Santa Claus impression. Aaanyway, long story short - Lydia likes owls. And now we have one hanging around. Does Lydia have Lost Season One Walt-like powers? Or is this merely a coincidence? Hmmm. Creep factor: moderate.

2 - Owls have been symbolically associated with death, and are considered by some to be foreshadowing of, well, lots of bad things. My family, for one - at least on my mother's side - certainly believes this. Thus, having an owl appear out of nowhere in my yard, and hooting like a jerk, kinda fills me with an admittedly unfounded sense of dread and worry. Terri and I once came across one on a long, dark and damp hike through the valley and frankly, after the initial startle and my subsequent girly shrieks, it had me rattled for the rest of the weekend. Creep factor: high.

3 - A conversation this morning...
Terri: "Lydia, we heard an owl in the trees last night. Did you hear the owl too?"
Lydia: "...yessss."
Aaron "Eeeeeeeep!"
Creep factor: off the charts.

So, please please please don't call us over the next few days; the sound of the phone ringing will be enough to send me to the ceiling. If you need me I'll be cowering in bed, but still available through email. Thanks.