Welcome to Hive Mindfulness,
Meditations for Curious Kids.
Hello there little barn owl.
It is good to see you tonight.
You've been having an exceptional night out hunting,
Swooping over the wide open fields in the dark,
Riding on the warm night air.
You are swooping silently through the night.
Even though your wings bounce up and down in large motions,
You fly so,
So quietly.
You are much quieter than most other birds,
Even other skilled hunters.
That is because you have special wings that break up the flow of air and super soft down feathers on your legs and tail that absorb sound.
Being soft like a fluffy pillow also makes you very sneaky.
You continue on in silent flight,
Wings swooping up and down,
Up and down,
Up and down.
Your body is made to fly so the up and down movement of your wings comes naturally and easily relaxing you.
Up and down,
Up and down,
Up and down.
You can feel how lovely and soft your feathers are as they rustle in the warm breeze.
You concentrate on how soft and warm and relaxed you feel as you float through the air.
Can you feel the softness of the feathers on your head,
Your wings,
Your body,
Those very fluffy legs and tail feathers?
Being very,
Very soft also comes with some problems.
You scan the horizon to check out the weather,
Searching for rain clouds.
Phew,
No clouds right now.
When it rains,
Your soft feathers absorb more than sound.
They absorb water,
Making you soaking wet.
You don't like being all wet.
It is cold and uncomfortable,
But you also look a little silly,
Like a wet pile of feathers.
Normally,
Like tonight,
Little owl,
You look very distinguished.
You are unique for an owl,
In a class all of your own,
And you look different from other owls too.
You have a pale heart-shaped face with a ring of darker feathers around it,
Marked with intense dark eyes that some people say look like a mess.
Lines from the insides of your eyes lead down to your low beak,
Which has feathers over the top of it,
Making it look a little bit like you have a nose.
You like how unique you look,
That others can look at you and know right away that you are a barn owl.
So it's a good thing that no rain is coming right now.
As you fly,
You think about how wonderful it is to be very much yourself.
It is wonderful to be unique and special.
There are things about you that other animals do not have.
You take some time to think about them,
Your special skill,
The interesting and unique way you look,
How there is no other creature out there quite like you.
It's a very dark night tonight,
Little barn owl.
The moon is just a tiny crescent in the sky,
And the beautiful,
Twinkling stars of the Milky Way are at such a far,
Far distance,
They make very little difference here on Earth.
But you do not mind a dark night.
You,
Little barn owl,
Have exceptional senses,
Especially your senses of sight and hearing.
Even though it is dark tonight,
You can still see a little bit.
You have excellent low-light vision,
So even though it is very dark,
You can still make out the general outlines of the ground below.
You can see the tall cattails rising from the marshes,
The fence posts that line the farmer's field,
And the grasses and rocks that cover the grassland.
As you watch the landscapes below you change.
You think about how wonderful it is to be a creature that travels over large spaces,
Experiencing many different views.
You watch the land below.
What do you see?
What part of nature catches your eye?
What interesting parts of the landscape make you feel happy?
While you like looking down on the beautiful landscapes,
You don't need to see to get your nightly job done.
You have spent most of this long night searching for food,
And you,
Little barn owl,
Can find your food just using hearing.
Your hearing is so good that you are the best out of all the animals at hunting without being able to see your prey.
Barn owls have developed such great hearing because you and your family and all your ancestors hunt at night in the dark.
You are a nocturnal little creature,
And you love being outside in the moonlight,
Floating through the air,
Your white body a streak in the sky.
You also like filling the night with your shriek.
Unlike other owls,
You do not hoot softly.
Rather,
You have a strange,
Piercing shriek.
People who have never heard a barn owl like you before have a hard time figuring out what type of noise your call is.
It doesn't sound like the calls of other animals,
But you love it and love filling the quiet night air with your calls.
You don't screech all the time,
Though.
You and your brother and sisters have been taking hunting lessons from your parents,
And they have taught you to be very quiet when approaching your prey.
You use your quiet wings to stay silent and listen carefully to the sound of little animals in the ground below.
Can you hear anything now?
Your parents have taught you to listen very carefully,
And they are very good teachers.
Like other barn owls,
They are partners for life,
And they raise one or two broods of young owls together every year,
So they have lots of practice teaching their kids to hunt.
You are getting better and better at hunting,
Little owl,
And soon you will head out on your own,
Away from your parents,
To find your own life partner and live quietly with just them.
But for now,
You are working on getting to be the best hunter you can be.
As a barn owl,
You need to eat about four little mammals every night.
That's almost 1,
500 animals a year.
To do this,
You are a very efficient hunter,
Swooping down on little animals and grasping them with your long legs,
Toes and talons,
Which means you can catch them,
Even if they are under long grass or snow.
Once you've gotten your prey,
You save time by eating them all in one bite.
That's one quick meal,
Bones and all!
With this unique way of eating,
Little owl,
You also have a unique way of getting rid of waste.
A couple times a day,
You spit out a pellet,
A little ball of bones and other parts that your body cannot digest.
But you are all done hunting tonight,
Little barn owl.
The sun is starting to get close to the horizon,
And morning is on its way.
So you are heading back to your home to go to sleep.
You flap your wings as you come closer and closer to the farmyard where you live.
Some barn owls do live in barns.
That is how you got your name,
Of course.
Others live out in the wild,
In hollows and trees,
Or other natural cavities.
You and your family live in a special box that the farmers have put up on your land to give you a home.
As you swoop inside the box and cozy up,
You are thankful that you have such a lovely home.
In many places,
Barn owls struggle to survive because the land they need for hunting and their nesting places are disturbed.
But you cozy up between four sturdy walls that keep you and your family safe.
You think about how wonderful it is to be home and to share a safe place with your family.
You are getting very sleepy now,
Little owl.
Your eyes are starting to close,
And you are starting to drift off into slumber.
Just like young humans,
You spend a lot of time in REM sleep,
The type of sleep that is perfect for dreaming.
So,
As you enter into your day's sleep,
You relax and get ready for that active type of sleep.
You don't fall asleep perfectly still.
Rather,
As you drift off into REM sleep,
Your head bobs gently up and down.
And there you are,
Little barn owl,
A beautiful and unique sight,
Sleeping as the sun rises,
Sitting in your nest box home,
Head bobbing,
Up and down,
Up and down.
Good night,
Little barn owl.
