Time for an old barn again

This photo was taken just over a year ago, on 21 January 2015. Looking at it this morning brings back a mixture of feelings. It was such a good day spent with my youngest daughter, but it was also a day that was much needed by both of us, as her older sister had died just two and a half weeks earlier. Friends had been telling me how important it was to be outdoors with my camera, especially at a time like this, and I knew they were 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 very distant Snowy Owl, 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 been on before, except for one short stretch where we found two old, red barns, including the one in my photo. The other, much larger barn was one that I had been looking forward to finding and seeing for the very first time. This day was as much a barn day as a bird day, and those of you who know me, know that this was just the kind of day I love.

Normally, I never walk from the road on to the surrounding land, even when there is no "No Trespassing" sign, so we were standing on the road, photographing this second barn. While we were there, a lady on horseback came towards us along the road, calling out that it was her property, so to go over and explore. We smiled when she apologized that the barn wasn't in better condition - as we told her, we like barns to be old and weathered, of course!

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.