Another Close Encounter with Our Owl

I feel incredibly lucky right now. As I was packing up, about to head off to warmer climates for work in Hawaii, my wife points outside and yells, 'there's the owl!'. I quickly grabbed my camera, that I had left out just for this occasion, and ran out into the snow...even though I still had my indoor slippers on.

Not only did the barred owl sit still on a nearby tree branch, but the snow was falling all around, creating a magical winter scene. If you look closely you can even see snowflakes speckling the head of the owl. Seeing an owl in our forest is a rare encounter indeed, but getting to photograph it makes it even more special. There is just something so intriguing about those big eyes looking right at you. Unless you are a squirrel of course!