Click to enter a 360° image. You can use your mouse or finger (depending on your device) to turn around in the scene. Another 360° may be found at the bottom of the post. The sun was a little higher, the snow was brighter.
We arrived at Ted’s little paradise just before the sun set. I saw the glow on the trees across the lake, gave him a quick hug, grabbed my gear and ran down to the end of the dock to shoot a VR with the amazing light.
It took me longer than the few minutes I claimed I’d be away, as the cold, combined with the uneven snow surface, made setting up a bit tricky. And then there was the ‘can’t avoid footprints, but try not to make too many, but try not to trip over the carefully set up tripod while moving around said tripod to keep me and my shadow out of the shot’ thing. Took a few tries and the sun kept sinking. The light was beginning to dim as I finally took the above image, which was the very last of the light before the clouds gave the sun an early rest.
We woke up to snow that first morning. Deer were undaunted. They filed across the lake to the feeder next door, at times looking like ghosts in the snow.
It was quiet. No roar of traffic. Snow was pristine white…or lavender or blue, depending on how the shadows fell. The frozen lake showed deer paths, but no human footprints. No smog to inhibit deep breaths of air. And I had no more returned to the house, taken off my winter layers and boots when I looked back to the lake and saw the first of what ended up to be 9 deer coming from the lake into the woods around Ted’s house. His neighbour has a feeder and after they finished there, they wandered beside and between Ted’s house and the lake, browsing, for a while before finally disappearing into the night, back across the lake to wherever they feel safe for the night.
So. Those of you who know me can pretty much understand how close to heaven I felt as Ted poured us some drinks and we started catching up. Friday the 13th it might have been, but the spirits of our beloved little black cats must have been intervening on our behalf.
Back to the image at the top of the post: See those clouds moving in under the sun? We woke up the next morning to snow. It had been snowing for some time before we arose and the deer had muzzles full of snow as they browsed on the ground then raised up their faces. We had breakfast as the little herd of deer ate theirs as the snowflakes fell.
We caught our first sight of the Snowy Owl perched atop a snow-covered roof, with snow blowing around her and snowflakes falling on her. Rather appropriate.
A wild turkey joined the deer one morning.
Heading out to look for the owl.
Perth is surrounded by farmland.
Perth itself is a charming little town with a rich history.
One plough, two lanes at once. Too cool!
When looking for owls, don’t assume anything. It could be that little lump on the ground or the blip on a rooftop.
Click to enter a 360° image. You can use your mouse or finger (depending on your device) to turn around in the scene. We returned home after playing in -35°C weather and the first thing I had to do was to shoot a little more at the water’s edge. I had to shoot between gusts of wind. The intense cold seemed to keep the deer away for much of this day.
This was the last day and the last sight of the deer.
A last look into the golden eyes of a Snowy Owl…