it's not just an owl.....

it's a great grey owl

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and based on everything i've heard and everything i've read this past week, this will be the only great grey owl i'll ever see in my lifetime. well, unless i decide to take up bird watching in canada and i don't see that happening anytime soon.

the news thursday night alerted everyone in the surrounding area that this beautiful creature was "staying" in a tree right down the road from us. so friday morning, i grabbed my camera, my hubby a latte from starbucks and off we went. we weren't really sure exactly where we were going, since umm, birds fly, but quickly we saw "the crowd" and knew he was still downtown. he was in a different tree from the day before, but with a full tummy, he had a new spot to spend the day sleeping. well, i'm not sure exactly how much sleep he got considering all the noise from the crazy people with cameras, kids and dogs and the post office trucks that were right below him, but he was content.

we had a nice chat with ryan {hands in his pockets} and he's got some great photos on his blog along with the story behind why this owl was in "my backyard." i love meeting other photographers. there's just something about us...our cameras, our lens questions, our understanding of how crazy we are sometimes doing what we we're doing...that just makes having a passion for photography feel good.

i'm so blessed to have a hubby who didn't bulk when i said {with a little laughter in my voice} "let's go back and see if he's still there" a few hours after we'd gotten home from downtown. well, he might of cleared his throat, adjusted the waist band on his jeans, cracked his neck side to side and pushed his shoulders back before he said, "okay, let's go." 

then he smiled while kissing me gently, as i reached for my camera bag and out the door we flew. the owl was still there, in the exact same place, without even the tiniest movement on the branch. unfortunately the wind had moved and was now just cold enough to send us quickly back to the car and off to do some shopping.