This morning the great horned owl was close again, right in the backyard it sounded like as I sat in my little room. He hooted four times that close, then moved east a few houses and hooted some more, and then I heard that strange-sounding squawk at the end like I heard last week. Our friend Hely says this is their courtship time, this is their duet! Even long-mated pairs go through courtship every year to renew their bond and prepare once again for the arduous work of raising young. Maybe we’ll have a nest close by this year.