Summary

“Understanding Understanding Owls” - After briefly describing his occasional, usually futile, attempts to rid his household of the owl gifts and memorabilia that he and Hugh have been given over the years, and after describing the origins of the collection (the following up of family and friends on a piece of research material acquired by Hugh), the author describes his search for a stuffed owl to give to Hugh as a Valentine’s Day present. Living in London at the time, the author travels to an out-of-the-way taxidermist’s shop, where the owner is chatty, does very good work, and, in addition to having a couple of recently stuffed owls in stock, shows him a couple of unique items: a man’s forearm, severed during a duel and afterwards preserved; and the 400-year-old mummified head of a young Peruvian girl. Intrigued by both...