A lovely treat on a snowy day

Was out of the house for about seven hours yesterday, spending most enjoyable time with friends, Ron and Trish and Bonnie, looking for a Great Gray Owl : ) North west of the city, it was snowing quite heavily and the rolling hills and farms almost faded from view during parts of the drive. We also hit some road areas that had several inches of snow on them, which didn't make for the best driving conditions. However, we were so lucky when a Great Gray Owl was spotted way in the distance. An absolute thrill - I have seen them in the wild before, but not for almost three years. Of course, the weather was bad, very low light and a distant bird (this is the closest shot) - but I did manage to get maybe two or three photos that I will post. The snow-covered coniferous trees around the owl were just beautiful - a true winter wonderland. Delightful to drive (easy for me to say, I wasn't the one driving!) through such countryside on a beautiful, snowy day : ) Thanks so much, Ron, for driving us safely, and to you and Trish for inviting me to join you and for finding us a beautiful Great Gray Owl. Bonnie, I thoroughly enjoyed spending lots of time with you yesterday - and to think we even saw a distant Northern Hawk Owl from the road as well. And I loved seeing the same horses I photographed a few days ago looking so much "happier" - especially the grey one, which had looked almost "depressed" the other day. Great to see a Kestrel, a Great Blue Heron (who must have been regretting returning to Calgary already), Trumpeter Swans, various Hawks, etc..