A different backdrop

Both the cow and the mountains look much closer than they actually were, thanks to powerful zoom. Just thought it looked different in this kind of setting.

Two days ago, 21 January 2015, my daughter and I spent the day together, out in nature. I know I needed to get out myself and the fact that my daughter asked if we could do that, told me that she, too, desperately needed to get a break from all the sadness and reminders of her big sister/my older daughter for a few hours. Friends have been telling me how important it is to be outdoors with my camera, especially at a time like this, and I know they are right.

Much as it would have been great to have gone looking for Snowy Owls, I just didn't feel up to that long of a drive. Instead, I drove to a much more familiar, closer area, SE of the city. The day was a mix of sun and cloudiness, and though the sun was in the wrong position for some of our shots, we did OK.

As for birds, we saw a couple of Great Horned Owls, a raptor of some kind (either a Prairie Falcon or a Gyrfalcon), several Gray Partridge and what I think must have been Horned Larks.

The rest of the day, my daughter and I drove mostly roads that we had driven before, except for one short stretch where we found not just one beautiful, old barn, but two. This day was as much a barn day as a bird day, as there was one particular barn that I really wanted to see for the first time. We were lucky that the second barn was close by.

I think being out with our cameras, driving the backroads, was therapeutic - certainly for me as I could enjoy my daughter's company, and hopefully for her, too.