dinner delivery

I usually stop by to visit the owls around 5-5:30pm. The female is sitting on their nest and the male is sitting nearby. This particular evening, the male is sitting in a small tree about 30 feet from me. My hope was to get a photo of him in flight. But he sat for quite awhile. It was getting dark, so I realized I wasn't going to get any good photos this time. It was quite warm for a February evening, so I stayed to enjoy the sunset and the night energies. As I was watching the owl, I heard a rustling in the stream bed right behind me. Seems the owl heard it too because after a few moments, he swooped down to catch some dinner. He missed the little creature, so flew up into a nearby tree to wait for a second chance. Sure enough, the rustling starts up again. The owl swooped down and caught his prey with ease. He flew up into another tree and made these "happy sounds" which was very cute! I expected him to eat the rodent but he flew into the nest and gave it to his mate:) Again "happy sounds" were heard from the nest. I interpreted it as "thanks honey"
I stood there in awe. I had just experienced the circle of life in person. As I walked back to my car, I was buzzing with energy. I had just witnessed something I would never forget.......