Photowalk

Yesterday I took a quick photo trip in order to look for some owls. For some reason it seems to me, that everybody else just goes out for a stroll and immediately finds one of those elusive creatures. Not me. In the past 10 years I saw 2 owls close up and did not get a proper photo of either one of those. I assume, that I passed by gazillion of small, medium and large owls without noticing them while walking through the forest.

Well, yesterday, as usual, I did not find owls but stumbled over a couple of ruffed grouse in trees. They look so cute!

Unfortunately the sun was already pretty low and I only got a few pics at ISO 800 and without details of their faces and feathers.

So today, I tried again to get a better picture but unfortunately it was not meant to be. Maybe next time. :)
There were also a whole lot of other photographers in the area so I better try that again during the week when it's a bit more empty.

It was -15C with a windchill of -27C and it seemed as all the birds found some hiding places to keep warm.

This cutie probably was wondering what on earth I was doing in the forest in this weather... it was strolling along while I made my way back to the carpark.

Actually amazing that these little lichens can survive such a tough climate. I mean, I was dressed up with double and tripple layers of warm clothing and still had a red nose like Rudolf and fingers in thick gloves that started to loose their sensitivity and these look as fresh as during the warm days of spring.

So even though heading out looking for ruffed grouse and ending up with a picture of a deer instead,  I still very much enjoyed the fresh (really fresh today!) air and the quick stroll through the forest.