Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: thoughtful

These are some of the carefully chosen gifts that my youngest daughter just couldn't resist getting for me for Christmas : ) Thought the mosaic might put a smile on the face of those who know me well and know how much I love owls! The largest photo is of a beautifully made, metal bottle opener - I'd never use it for that purpose, but as a decoration. I love things made from metal. The small images show, from top to bottom, a metal owl tea infuser (along with two packets of special tea that smell absolutely wonderful); a small Christmas stocking; an owl-shaped freezer pack meant for putting in a child's lunchbox, but I will use it in my small cooler when I go out for the day; and an owl pot-holder. My daughter is one of those people with a gift for knowing - and finding - the perfect things to give people. Much as I love the things she finds, best of all is knowing how much time and effort goes into finding them. Thanks so much, Rachel!

Have been feeling really unwell the last 7-10 days, so the very last thing I should have done was to drive to a new area by myself on a -20C day, LOL! I've battled a phobia of driving the last 31 years, so plucking up courage to do this drive meant a lot to me. Felt so good to have done it. Wonderfully, I bumped into a couple of friends who were already at the location, so there was someone to chat with while we stood and waited and waited and waited for this gorgeous Northern Hawk Owl to do something, ha, ha! They also very kindly brought back a cup of hot coffee for me when they drove into Cochrane for a quick break. We did see three of these owls along the stretch of road, but they were perched a long way away. Maybe they, too, were feeling the cold. The one above was in fact perched in a row of trees with masses of tangled branches, but I was lucky to just be able to shoot from the road, through a small gap. Greatly cropped, of course : ) Looks like it had had a fairly recent snack, judging by the colour of its beak. Takes about an hour and a quarter to drive here, north of the city. It was unbearably cold and I was still on the verge of shivering eight hours after getting home. As I said, not the wisest outing when sick : ) Can't wait to do it again, though, especially as our weather is supposed to warm up for a few days.

Sorry, Rebecca, this owl lives at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre, just over a two-hour drive south from here (i.e towards the US border). I went there for the day with a friend in July 2007 and we had the most amazing time (despite a temperature of either 36C or 38C all day). This Centre takes injured birds of prey and releases those that eventually recover. The rest do such a great job of educating people about owls, hawks and eagles. We don't get Barn Owls in Alberta. I had the humbling opportunity to have both a Burrowing Owl and a Great Horned Owl separately on my arm : )