"The Vigil" 2010 watercolor C. Asheley Kapelewski

This painting of a Barred Owl has a sad story behind it. In folklore, owls are said to foretell of a death in the family. This is a portrait of the owl who came and sat by a window of our house the day I received a call from an out of state doctor that my father had not long to live. This owl was there during every heartrending phone call I had with the hospital, and with my dad during his last two weeks on Earth. As I returned from saying my final goodbyes, my dad passed away. The owl was there the next morning, looked at me, and flew away, never to return to that perch by the window.