Have I ever mentioned

how much I like the birthday present Hubband gave me? Probably not. He was really sweet and gave it to me early (like the end of October). With it I can take cute things like this
and this

 

and these

 

But seriously, I really love it because I can take pictures like this out my kitchen window even when he has taken his camera on vacation!

(I would strongly recommend you click on the picture to get a big view of it.)
That was taken at about 3:20 in the afternoon, and you may be able to tell how close to the house it is since I got some of the bird feeder that is on the deck into the picture.
It is a Barred Owl, and they average 16 to 25 inches in height when full grown, which this one is. This is one of the reasons Someone isn't allowed outside by herself. She is just now getting to be only slightly bigger than a squirrel. This, and the Red-tailed Hawk family that lives in the trees above our shed at the edge of the yard.

Barred Owl can sometimes be seen hunting before dark. This typically occurs during the nesting season or on dark and cloudy days. A Barred Owl will use a perch, from where it dives upon its prey - meadow voles are its main prey, followed by shrews and deer mice. Other mammals include rats, squirrels, young rabbits, bats, moles, opossums, mink, and weasels. Birds are taken occasionally, including woodpeckers, grouse, quail, jays, blackbirds, and pigeons.

Sometimes when I am filling the bird feeder Hubband refers to it as the Hawk feeder. He might need to start calling the owl feeder.