To my more recent Followers, and to anybody/everybody who is not familiar with a Barn Owl named Odessa, the link below goes to an earlier Post which covers an excerpt from the book “The Odessa Chronicles”. Whereas the book is, for the most part, a collection of short stories, the excerpt in the Post linked below is from a quite lengthy adventure as Odessa tries to find answers to some questions about her past.
To set a context – Odessa has to fly over the Big Water in order to reach the place where she was born. She has vague recollections of flying from there a long time ago when she was much younger, and only made land by a stroke of luck as she was able to rest on a small boat. She knew that the chances of finding another boat when needed were unlikely, but she had to try ……..
Remember that, regardless of your age, if you are still in touch with your inner child, then this book is for you. 🙂
A New Direction Perhaps? 
I loved the title of this post, Colin. My black Lab Earnie (God rest his soul) LOVED big water. We took him to Lake Erie now and then, and in his final months, to the Atlantic coast of Maine. This post has a photo of him swimming in the ocean: https://justjoan42.wordpress.com/2016/01/17/earnest-and-true-to-the-end/
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Great pic! Ray loves to splash around in the lake (Ontario) but, as soon as he feels it touch his tummy, he’s out of the water! 🙂
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Earnie was 15 in that photo, quite debilitated. That’s why he’s wearing a life jacket. He didn’t need it and probably thought we were nuts. He made a running start down the pier (the fastest he’d moved in two years), jumped in with a joyful splash, and showed off for 15 minutes before we made him come in. 🙂
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It’s so nice to see them have fun! 🙂
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That was a suspenseful chapter in your book. I don’t know what this “Big Water” is, but I assume it might be one of the Great Lakes.
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Yes it might! 🙂
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This adventure tugs at.the heart. A peaceful feeling comes when Odessa makes it to land and she hears, “Welcome back Odessa!” And yes someone did give her a beautiful name, didn’t they? 😉
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🙂
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