Weird Owl

My daughter wrote a story about a troubled little girl who was stealing owl eggs.  The owl returned to find the eggs gone and made after the girl.  A few years back I remember her asking for an owl necklace for her birthday.  She had become a big fan of Minerva.  This morning, during sit ups the underground psychedelic sixties mix I was shuffling through on Youtube popped up with yet another band I’d never hear of:  Weird Owl.  The screen shot that ran as the uninspiring bar chords slid about before they fed-back, was of an owl in the middle of a prism refracting clear light off into a the color spectrum.  “Weird Owl” forced the viewer to consider what that might be.  I called my daughter in as she was running out the door for school.  “Check out the name of this band.”  “Oh..”

Stuck on Jing Mi Lu once again, approaching the elevated subway station there is nearly always this sort of delay.  The leaves of the poplar trees are important.  They have yet to turn.  Off in the distance there are other trees, I’m afraid I can’t name them, but they are deciduous trees mostly, there behind what must be a bit of an orchard.   These trees are turning yellow.  Some are quiet lovely.  But the poplars dominate the roadside suggesting summer. 

The green light up ahead looks promising.  Perhaps we’ll make it through on this run.  Yes, we are through.  Now just in time to stop in front of this next one and mere fifty meters further on.  I should learn the name of this tree planted in the sidewalk off to the right.  It’s a strong trunk and thin rows of leaves on long stems that make me want to call it sumac or sycamore but I suspect those are wrong.  If I were on-line I bet I could find a site that shows the leaves of all the trees native to Beijing.  Another green light.  

Much later at home.  Eyes sore from the end of the day grit now tangible beneath my contact lenses.  In the other room is dried fish.  I just caught myself saying “I just love that salty taste,” and regretting it from a number of angles.  Mere apple slices are not cutting it this late in the evening.  I have to get up early tomorrow.  I should probably wrap it up.