It’s a Sunday afternoon and Viola is back visiting Touch House, where she describes in detail a bright yellow moth. We suspect this could be a Brimstone Moth.
Her entry continues in the evening when she has returned home (Gargunnock House) and is ‘conversing’ with four different owls from her bedroom window. The ‘brown owl’ that she mentions is probably a Tawny Owl and the ‘white owl’ a Barn Owl as both are frequently found in Scotland. She certainly seems to have a sense of humour, surprising one owl with a cat’s miaow rather than a hoot back!
Transcript, Page 4
Sept. 7. Touch House. 3pm
I found a moth of a bright yellow colour
with a streak of browny yellow across both
wings. A wonderful instance of natural
camuflage for it exactly resembled a faded
rose-petal. About ¾ or 1 inch long.
Again from my bedroom window at 9p.m.
I had a long hooting talk with a distant
Brown Owl
At 9.15 I spoke to a White Owl and he came
round from the shrubbery at the side
of the house and circled round me so
close that I could have knocked him
Page 5
down with a stick. I also observed something
white in the woods to the west of the
house. It several times moved its posit-
-ion and there were two bright lumin-
ous points towards the upper part of it
I can find no explanation for it except
that it might have been a white owl
and the luminous points its eyes
But it did not give any reply to
me when I gave both white and
brown calls. There are other owls
though I do not know if they are
found near here. I think one
kind must be as there is an owl
which gives a third kind of call
I must try and find out what
owl it is.
9.40 I got into conversation with yet another
owl. That makes four different kinds round
here. After a time I gave him the surprise
of his life by giving a cats miaow and
all four calls one after the other. He
gave one skwawk of surprise and I
have not heard him since. Now I’m so sleepy.
