A new find on a bitterly cold day

This was such a 'blah' photo that I resorted to adding a 'snow texture" to it. There was no sign of snow yesterday, but the light was fading when I started my drive back to the city.

Yesterday, 17 January 2016, I finally got out for a much-needed drive out of the city. It seems ages since I did this, but I had some time, the sun was making its way through the clouds, and I had plucked up the courage to go east from the city. Recently, I was out that way on a birding trip with a group and we had seen a total of 6 extremely distant Short-eared Owls (3 pairs) at different locations. So, I was really hoping that my courage would be rewarded by spotting at least one owl : )

I was so fortunate to see several of these beautiful owls. They were way across a field and didn't once come close and perch on a fence post. However, I can't believe that I was lucky enough to see three of them perched together just before it was time to drag myself away and return home. How beautiful they are. This does seem to be a good winter for this species, which is exciting.

Standing in -15C (windchill -22C) weather is NOT fun, trust me! It was SO cold. Fortunately, people were standing right by their cars and could climb back in when the pain became too unbearable. Five minutes occasionally of running the engine was barely enough to keep me going, plus a handwarmer inside my right glove. My feet finally thawed out once I arrived back home. It was all worth it, though, just for the chance to see these beautiful owls.

When I left this area, I made a turn down a backroad, as i had noticed a red barn in the distance. Quite a nice old barn with a collapsing roof, with another barn next to it, off to the left of my photo.