Don't mess with Grandma Judy.
The rural Langdon, N.D., resident is highly protective of her family members, including the four-legged variety.
A Great Horned Owl can attest to her protective instinct. Actually, the creature can't attest because it has gone to The Big Nest in the Sky. Compliments of Grandma Judy.
Here's what happened:
Judy Evans, 62, was visiting her daughter and grandchildren in Lake Elmo, Minn. They have a 5-pound fur ball named Riley, a Papillon dog. When Riley was romping in the yard, a Great Horned Owl -- a nasty creature -- swooped down and sunk her long talons into the pooch.
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But before the owl could take flight with a canine snack, Grandma Judy grabbed a wing. And hung on.
So did the owl. Its grip on the fur ball was as firm as GJ's grip on the wing.
To break the stalemate, "I strangled it until it let go of the dog," said Judy, in the calm, even voice of an assassin. "I don't know how long that took. I just reacted to what was going on."
The talons finally let go of Riley. Then, Judy finished the job with shovel.
"I didn't think of (the risk of being hurt) at the time; I just reacted," she said. "Afterwards, I was thinking 'oh my!'"
She thought of having the owl stuffed, "but I didn't want to have it looking at me forever." But, for proof to husband Neil of her conquest, she took a photograph of her posing with it.
"It wasn't illegal because the owl was attacking the dog, so they didn't take me off to jail," she said.
"Now, everyone calls me the owl slayer."
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Winning a wrestling match with a Great Horned Owl does not meet the stereotype of a grandma. But Judy is no rocking chair granny.
"I have hunted," she said. "And we've got cattle, which you have to be physical with. You have to catch them when they're sick to give them shots.
"I got run over by a cow once when it charged me. But then, she became hamburger, and I enjoyed every bite."
Yes, it's clear not to mess with Grandma Judy.
Haiti follow-up
My Jan. 17 column told about how Russell Edgar and his Pembina County farming neighbors had combined to plant, cultivate and harvest 30,000 pounds of beans destined for earthquake victims in Haiti.
Their contact with the charity Convoy for Hope was former neighbor and farmer Bob Bachman, a missionary associate with the Assembly of God. Bachman, a rural Hamilton, N.D., resident, returned to the area last week after spending time in Haiti.
While back in his home territory to pick up another shipment of food, he urged area farmers to donate beans, wheat, corn, peas and even soybeans. Convoy of Hope, based in Missouri, already had delivered 18 semi-loads of food to Haiti with no end in sight, but he wants the plea for more donated food to go to growers across this region.
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"Haiti has such a desperate need, and it's so ongoing because there's no way for them to feed themselves with their desperate situation," he said.
Convoy delivers knowledge as well as food, as its other mission is to bring seeds and teach the destitute how to grow their own food.
Bachman urges area growers to go to www.convoyofhope.org to see how they can help.
Reach Bakken at (701) 780-1125; (800) 477-6572, ext. 125; or send e-mail to rbakken@gfherald.com .
