My title refers to an old expression meaning that sometimes it is best to keep quiet and say nothing. I got the inspiration for this painting on a hiking trip in Yellowstone National Park. It can happen that, on such a trip, one almost doesn’t see anything but squirrels. The big hope is to see big game. But that trip to my much-beloved national park in Wyoming was one of those disappointments when no game shows up until, all at once, my wife Paula pointed to something like a stump. When the stump moved and looked at us, we realized it was an owl - the great gray owl! This made our day. The bird flew up, but stayed very close to us. For about twenty minutes we could enjoy his company. The area was a mixture of aspen trees and lodge pole pine. The owl flew from one tree to another. When he perched in such a wonderful full-colored aspen tree, I forgot everything and the thrill was indescribable. Inspiration like this, right from the wild, is the best basis for a good painting. - CB