I could always hear the hooting off in the distance usually across the road in the woods. Always it felt like a call and I wanted to go to it, I ached to do so. I had never seen an owl in the wild before.

I love this picture because it’s moody, dark and mysterious. Sarah came to get me. She had been over by the stream when it, like magic, swooped by to land and perch on a tree branch. We were delighted that it was still there. It looked at me as I clicked the shutter of my camera. The stream was flowing cool and steady past us and twilight had come. Sarah was smiling. She was glad I was able to get a good photo and she was the one who searched the bird book to identify it.

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“Those who believe in tomorrow can live better today,
and those who expect joy to come out of sadness can discover the beginnings of a new life in the center of the old,
and those who look forward to the returning Lord can discover Him already in their midst.”
~Henri J.M. Nouwen, Readings and Reflections