Snowy City, Snowy Owl

A Really Un-Me Cardigan -- 1/12/14

This cardigan at Goodwill was pretty, cheap, made from soft wool, of good quality, from a company I often like, and fit well.  But when I decided to try wearing it, I realized that it didn't go with my style or the kinds of things I like to wear (and thus own).

Things I like:
**Saturated bright colors
**Color-blocking
**Stripes, dots, and other sharp, geometric prints
**Leopard print
**Items that can be worn with black, white, and/or grey

So this cardigan, in odd pastel colors and brown on a tan background is not quite a fit with those criteria.

I actually do own a long-sleeved t-shirt in a light shade of blue, but it was dirty on the day I wanted to try this sweater, so I went with a brighter blue instead.  I added the blue statement necklace to make the outfit feel a bit more "me."  I'm not sure that it was enough, though.  This cardigan might be going back to Goodwill to find another home.

New items:
**Questionable cardigan (thrifted; Coldwater Creek)
**Statement necklace from Kohl's

So anyway, January 12 was the day that Robert and I finally saw a snowy owl!  Two of them, in fact.  It's been a big irruption year for snowy owls (as my mom emailed me about in December), and they've been seen all over the eastern half of the country down to sort of ridiculously southern climes.  And a bunch of them have been here in the environs of Snow City.  We drove to a town about 45 minutes south (and east?) of home and had no luck on our first go (on 1/11).  We tried the same locations again the next day, arriving later in the afternoon, and BOOM...Robert quickly spotted the first one, a bit distant but perfectly easy to see with binoculars.  We drove another couple of blocks and saw a bunch of cars parked by the side of the road and people with binoculars, scopes, and/or cameras with giant lenses; Robert said, Must be another owl.  Indeed.  It was so close to the road that I was able to get a photo using my tiny camera.

Yeah, this shot won't be making the cover of Birding magazine or anything, but it is good enough that it is easy to see that the bird is, indeed, a snowy owl.

He may seem a bit shy in my photo, with his head turned away, but that's only because he was too busy showing off to the people with serious cameras facing the other way.  I took a photo from this less-desirable side (you know, with the power lines, etc.) because I did not want to enter this fray.

I don't make New Years resolutions, but I had thought: Man, I really, really would like to see a snowy owl in 2014.  Done and done.