The owl stayed a while

On Friday I noticed an old friend outside my window, the owl that has been known to visit our land. I've seen him several times before, even gotten to watch him swoop down on the snow and pick up some unseen morsel, but I hadn't seen him this year. Owls are great for photographers because they'll sit there while you take their picture. This is last year's picture, about which I was quite happy, as it felt nicely framed and clear.

And this is this year's picture, which came out even better somehow.

He stayed there in one tree or another in plain view for almost five hours, disinterestedly watching the overexcited finches and otherwise not doing much. He seems plumper this year; I imagine it's been a good year for hunting.