Baby screech owls and a summer to remember

It’s the story of Jim and Helen Wilson, who fell in love in the 1940s at Tucson High School, had five kids and 13 grandkids and lived happily ever after.

The two love stories converged in the garage of the Wilson’s home, a striking mud adobe Jim built by hand, as Owlie and Olivia and their adorable brood of four became a family.

On an early July morning, two pairs of golden-green eyes peered down at Jim, winking unabashedly at the friendly octogenarian.

“Hey, buddy, how you doing,” Jim, 87, asked one of the 7-inch-tall owls perched high on a shelf in his garage. “Everybody good? Talk to me.”

In a summer challenged with health concerns for Jim, the adorable owl family has brought the Wilsons nothing but pure, sweet joy.

That and a rodent carcass that landed with a splat on the windshield of Helen’s Hyundai as she prepared to pull out of the garage.

“These owls have been great for me,” said Jim, a retired insurance salesman who is battling cancer and heart problems.

“I am limited as to what I can do but I can sure watch these owls and talk to them,” said this native Tucsonan whose father worked in the furniture department at the iconic Steinfeld’s downtown.

Said Helen, “It has been such a treat.”

The story of the screech-owl family started more than two years ago, when a male owl took a liking to the Wilsons’ garage.

Owlie, as he was named by the Wilsons, had easy access to his new home through portals in the garage. The openings are protected by wrought-iron bars that allow fresh air — and an occasional owl — in.

“We learned that when owls find a home, that is where they will live for their lifetime,” said Helen, who is also 87.

Owlie came and went, and was gone for weeks at a time in the heat of the summer.

Last December, he returned home with a girlfriend. The Wilsons, who have been married 67 years, were enamored with this happy pair as they set up housekeeping in the garage, dining on crickets, roaches and small furry creatures.

Jim was hospitalized in May, and as Helen returned home from a visit, she was greeted by a row of tiny baby owls, standing no more than 3 inches tall and perched high up on a shelf in the garage.

She couldn’t wait to tell Jim the news.

“You are not going to believe what’s in our garage,” she told her love at his bedside.

The tiny baby owls brought instant joy, and what would become a summer adventure for the Wilsons.

“This has been a lifetime experience,” Helen said.

Jim and Helen have spent much of the summer checking on their little owl family. The owls, who never seemed to fear the Wilsons or other visitors, communicate through clicking sounds, and the Wilsons click right back.

Drama came early on, as one of the babies injured its leg in the garage door. But the Wilsons were heartened to see its siblings and parents stay close, bringing bugs to munch on and staying at its side until the owl made a complete recovery.

“They were taking care of him,” Helen said.

Daughter Cindy Remme has taken hundreds of photos of the family as they perched in a variety of favorite spots in the garage — on a cozy elk hide on a high shelf, on Jim’s chinning bar, behind a coffee urn and on antlers mounted on the garage wall.

By early summer, Owlie moved out, no doubt looking for cooler climes. Olivia and the babies remained, entertaining the Wilsons and family and friends who would come to visit.

As babies do, these ones grew quickly. One flew off soon after its father. By the end of the first week of July, all had left their cozy home.

The Wilsons hope the owls come back in the fall. With help from their son, a 12-foot-tall owl house has been installed just outside the garage — complete with elk fur carpeting — and work is underway to block off the portals with chicken wire. There were all those owl droppings to deal with, after all.

But Helen, who is working on a children’s book chronicling her owl adventures, just might be having second thoughts about completely closing off the garage to the feathered friends.

“God entrusted us with these precious creatures,” she said. “He gave us a gift. He knew just what we needed.”