'You don’t expect an owl to come down your chimney': Victoria woman inspired to paint by unlikely visitor
When Beth Doman arrived home that night, she was greeted by a peculiar sound coming from her fireplace.
“Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch,” she imitates the sound and points up the chimney. “And just a little bit of soot coming down here.”
Beth wondered if it was a rodent and approached the fireplace to investigate.
“Then all of a sudden this explosion of feathers came into the fireplace!” Beth says.
She thought it was a hawk at first, before the bird flew over the fireplace grate and into her living room.
“It sat on my couch and stared at me,” Beth laughs.
It was an owl.
By the time Beth could grab her phone to capture the uninvited guest on camera, the bird had flown to her front entrance and perched on her hanging coats.
“You don’t expect an owl to come down your chimney,” Beth says. “So I was a bit in shock for a minute.”
Which was followed by worry for the bird’s well-being.
“It’s OK,” Beth says while filming the owl with one hand and opening her front door with the other. “I’m going to let you outside.”
Then the video shows the owl erupting with a flurry of feathers from the floor back to the hanging coats.
“Oh my god!” Beth screams, before reassuring the owl and gesturing to the open door. “It’s OK, sweetie. There you go.”
But the owl wouldn’t leave.
“I named him Barry,” Beth smiles. “Barry the barred owl.”
After another 20 minutes, Barry bolted — seemingly uninjured — beyond Beth’s front door and back to the wild.
When I told all my friends, they were asking if I got my Hogwarts letter,” Beth smiles. “I didn’t get a letter!”
In lieu of a handwritten letter inviting her to enroll in Harry Potter’s school of witchcraft and wizardry, Beth decided to express her thoughts and feelings about Barry by putting paint to paper.
“Owls have a lot of meaning in different cultures,” Beth says. “Sometimes they can be harbingers of doom, other times they’re a blessing.”
Perhaps because she’d been painting watercolours of birds for years, Beth says Barry’s visit very much felt like a blessing.
“I feel really special that he chose my chimney to fall down,” Beth smiles. “And I got to have such a close experience with a wild animal.”
Beth also got to illustrate how this story ends, by painting a portrait of Barry perched happily on a branch in the wild. You can see the owl looking over his shoulder having delivered not post to Potter, but magical inspiration nonetheless.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
The Indian couple killed in a wrong-way police chase crash on Highway 401 earlier this week has been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
2 charged after police find 'concerning and diverse' explosives at Manitoba home
Winnipeg police say they have arrested two people in their 20s after a large amount of explosives were found in a home outside of Winnipeg, Man.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Spain abolishes national bullfighting award in cultural shift
Spain scrapped an annual bullfighting award on Friday, prompting a rebuke from conservatives over a backlash against a centuries-old tradition they see as an art form but which has run into growing concern for animal welfare.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.