It's always good to have backup utilities.
If we run out of oil, we have a fireplace and a woodpile. For water, we can melt snow or filter the spring. And, just in case, we have a two-door outhouse.
One door died years ago and has not been resurrected. The second door has a tendency to not stay shut. Porcupines gnaw the wood for the salt from human sweat.
And, apparently, it makes a great home for screech owls. Pardon the quality of the photo: I was using a cellphone through a car window somewhat coated in basset hound drool. (But isn't that how it always works?)
[…] I noticed that the one remaining door on our unused, and long-neglected, outhouse had become open recently. Yesterday, when returning from running an errand, Karen found the culprit who obviously somehow opened that door. It was a Screech owl, who has evidently taken up residence. Karen managed to grab a photo with her cell phone, and put our new neighbor’s picture up on her own blog. […]