This morning I urged readers to get kids outside today, and every day, even if it’s just as far as the backyard. Well when our 3-year-old returned from a short hike with Dad tonight, he was just in time to hear and then see a barred owl catch a small bird right behind our house (as in a foot from my office window, where I first heard the life and death struggle unfolding in the dark).

With the help of a flashlight we located the owl in our apple tree and then went inside to watch from a window as the owl swooped back down to retrieve its dinner.

So get out the door and bring the kids. You never know what you might see in your own backyard.