Yesterday, 14 February, I was so lucky. Friend, Pam, phoned to see if I'd like to go with her for a quick drive east of the city. I hadn't been expecting to get out for a few days, as I had a cortisone injection in my left hip the previous day and one is supposed to rest for a few days. Another 10 days and I get a shot in the other hip. I wasn't going to drive anywhere, but being driven and no walking sounded just too nice to turn down. We also both knew that snow was in the forecast for the next two or three days.

We were very lucky with an owl sighting and this one flew to a fairly close fence post - and just stayed there. Looks like a bit of its most recent snack of Meadow Vole was still on the tip of its beak.

The temperature was a few degrees "less cold" than the previous 12 or so days. However, it was still SOOOO cold, so photos were taken with gloved hands. Two weeks of deep freeze has not been enjoyable, to say the least. This morning, 15 February, it is "only" -20C (windchill -25C) and snow fell overnight.

Many thanks, Pam, for the invite and this absolute treat! So much appreciated.

Tags:   Alberta Canada E of Calgary nature wildlife avian bird bird of prey owl Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus perched fence post front view field snow outdoor winter 14 February 2019 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2019 © All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

Yesterday, 14 February, I was so lucky. Friend, Pam, phoned to see if I'd like to go with her for a quick drive east of the city. I hadn't been expecting to get out for a few days, as I had a cortisone injection in my left hip the previous day and one is supposed to rest for a few days. Another 10 days and I get a shot in the other hip. I wasn't going to drive anywhere, but being driven and no walking sounded just too nice to turn down. We also both knew that snow was in the forecast for the next two or three days.

We were very lucky with an owl sighting and this one flew to a fairly close fence post - and just stayed there. Looks like a bit of its most recent snack of Meadow Vole was still on the tip of its beak.

The temperature was a few degrees "less cold" than the previous 12 or so days. However, it was still SOOOO cold, so photos were taken with gloved hands. Two weeks of deep freeze has not been enjoyable, to say the least. This morning, 15 February, it is "only" -20C (windchill -25C) and snow fell overnight.

Many thanks, Pam, for the invite and this absolute treat! So much appreciated.

Tags:   Alberta Canada nature wildlife avian bird bird of prey owl Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus perched fence post front/side view close-up head shot field snow outdoor winter 14 February 2019 Canon SX60 Canon SX60 Powershot annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2019 © All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

Yesterday, 14 February, I was so lucky. Friend, Pam, phoned to see if I'd like to go with her for a quick drive east of the city. I hadn't been expecting to get out for a few days, as I had a cortisone injection in my left hip the previous day and one is supposed to rest for a few days. Another 10 days and I get a shot in the other hip. I wasn't going to drive anywhere, but being driven and no walking sounded just too nice to turn down. We also both knew that snow was in the forecast for the next two or three days.

We were very lucky with an owl sighting when one flew to a fairly close fence post - and just stayed there. Looked like a bit of its most recent snack of Meadow Vole was still on the tip of its beak. I would think the owl in this photo was a different individual. Nice to see one in a tree, even if the branches were rather uninterestingly straight.

The temperature was a few degrees "less cold" than the previous 12 or so days. However, it was still SOOOO cold, so photos were taken with gloved hands. Two weeks of deep freeze has not been enjoyable, to say the least. This morning, 15 February, it is "only" -20C (windchill -25C) and snow fell overnight.

Many thanks, Pam, for the invite and this absolute treat! So much appreciated.

Tags:   Alberta Canada E of Calgary nature wildlife avian bird bird of prey owl Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus front/side view perched thin branch tree sky outdoor winter 14 February 2019 Nikon P900 Nikon P900 annkelliott Anne Elliott © Anne Elliott 2019 © All Rights Reserved

© All Rights Reserved

Apologies to someone who left a comment on this photo before I deleted it! That was such a fast comment, while I was still uploading these five photos. I decided to change the order of the images and I caught sight of 4 views and 1 comment just as I was clicking Delete. Sorry!

Yesterday, 14 February, I was so lucky. Friend, Pam, phoned to see if I'd like to go with her for a quick drive east of the city. I hadn't been expecting to get out for a few days, as I had a cortisone injection in my left hip the previous day and one is supposed to rest for a few days. Another 10 days and I get a shot in the other hip. I wasn't going to drive anywhere, but being driven and no walking sounded just too nice to turn down. We also both knew that snow was in the forecast for the next two or three days.

We were very lucky with an owl sighting when this one flew to a fence post, flew off, and later returned to a different, closer post - and just stayed there. Looked like a bit of its most recent snack of Meadow Vole was still on the tip of its beak.

The temperature was a few degrees "less cold" than the previous 12 or so days. However, it was still SOOOO cold, so photos were taken with gloved hands. Two weeks of deep freeze has not been enjoyable, to say the least. This morning, 15 February, it is "only" -20C (windchill -25C) and snow fell overnight.

Many thanks, Pam, for the invite and this absolute treat! So much appreciated.

© All Rights Reserved

This was a totally accidental shot, taken yesterday, with my old Canon SX60, which I hadn't used for ages. When I took the first few shots, I could tell something was happening inside my camera, rather like a camera set on burst (which I never use). However, this was different and when I reviewed the photos, I discovered that I must have caught the dial somehow and it was on a different setting. The result was a set of six completely different images, every one now deleted except for this one. The original was much paler.

Yesterday, 14 February, I was so lucky. Friend, Pam, phoned to see if I'd like to go with her for a quick drive east of the city. I hadn't been expecting to get out for a few days, as I had a cortisone injection in my left hip the previous day and one is supposed to rest for a few days. Another 10 days and I get a shot in the other hip. I wasn't going to drive anywhere, but being driven and no walking sounded just too nice to turn down. We also both knew that snow was in the forecast for the next two or three days.

We were very lucky with an owl sighting and this one flew to a fairly close fence post - and just stayed there. Looked like a bit of its most recent snack of Meadow Vole was still on the tip of its beak.

The temperature was a few degrees "less cold" than the previous 12 or so days. However, it was still SOOOO cold, so photos were taken with gloved hands. Two weeks of deep freeze has not been enjoyable, to say the least. This morning, 15 February, it is "only" -20C (windchill -25C) and snow fell overnight.

Many thanks, Pam, for the invite and this absolute treat! So much appreciated.

© All Rights Reserved