The Forest Has Eyes

My wife and I had plans to go to Fort De Soto on Saturday morning, but I forgot to check the website first and found out there was a 5K going on, so the park was closed. I was pretty aggravated, but we headed back home, changed clothes, and decided to go look for owls instead. Within about five minutes, we spotted this beautiful female barred owl tucked away in the woods.

She was perched in the perfect little nook, surrounded by branches and leaves, with just enough foreground to make the whole scene feel extra cozy. The golden morning light was starting to paint the background and catch bits of the leaves around her, and with that clean background she stood out perfectly. We watched her for about 30 minutes hoping her mate might join her on the perch, but he never showed. Still, this owl ended up making the morning more than worth the aggravation.