The Valley Line

Jane Napier Neely

I’m a very thrilled grandmother once again. Son Chris and his wife Megan presented me with a tiny, beautiful little girl, Morgan Fionnuala Flanagan Neely,on Sept. 21. Her two brothers, Aidan, 6, and Lucan, 4, were hoping for a baby brother, but now love showing off their tiny sister who now weighs about 5 pounds, 9 ounces and is 18-1/2 inches long. Chris and Megan like to have “surprise” babies so they requested not to be told about the baby’s sex until the wee one made its appearance in the world.

I haven’t met the baby yet but will very soon. I can hardly wait to present her with a swatch of the Napier tartan, her birthright. She will also be presented with the Irish Murray tartan that is from Megan’s mother’s family. The Celtic heritage is strong in the both of our families, so her middle name Fionnuala has the Gaelic spelling.

The first story that will be written in her baby book happened just five days before her birth: Chris and Megan had gone to bed on the second floor of their Livermore home. Chris was asleep and Megan was reading a few pages from a book when there was a loud sound in their bedroom. As Megan looked up from her book she saw that the screen from the open window had crashed forward into the room.

As she slightly moved the book she was shocked to see a little owl sitting on her belly. She said the owl was so light that she never felt any pressure. Not moving, Megan said to Chris, “Honey, wake up, there is an owl sitting on my stomach.” By the time Chris was fully awake, the owl took flight and flew to the already prepared baby’s crib near their bed. It perched there for a brief time.

Within a few moments the owl took flight again, flying about the room and into the large walk-in closet. Chris ran to get his camera in order to document the event while Megan got on the phone to call two different “birder” friends for suggestions on how to remove an owl from their room without injuring it.

Their surprise visitor, who never made sound, made its way back out of their room after they covered all the other windows, left the one with the missing screen open and turned out the lights. They heard the sound of the intruder’s wings beating the air as he/she left a temporary perch on top of a plant on the bookcase and flew back out the window it had used to enter their room.