I was holding my breath and hoping.  It has been years since I could see enough detail to spot wildlife.  Most of the time I didn’t realize I’d photographed an animal or insect or tiny plant until I loaded the images into the computer and looked at them on the screen.  

I was hoping that the result of my cataract surgery would allow me to see some of the things I’d been missing.  Today the puppy and I were out for a spin in the Kubota and I was just taking in the sights when I spied an owl sitting an opening in a hollow tree.  YES!!!!  I hurried home and grabbed a camera.  The tree was on the side of my road so I jumped in the car and drove back there.  He was still there, soaking up the afternoon sun.  I found a place close to park on my one lane road and while still sitting in the seat, turned and shot over my shoulder.  Not the best way to capture a shot.  I carefully tried to get out of the car without spooking him. Ding Ding Ding.  Oops I forgot to pull the key out of the ignition! Darn, he ducked out of sight.

Here is what I got.  The image with the owl is one shot (one full frame and the other cropped from the same image). the other is the empty hole.  I sat there for some time hoping he would return to his sunbathing.  Nope.  But, I know where he lives now.

The fantastic part is that I saw him as I was casually moving along.  Yep, I can see a lot more detail now.  I can only imagine what it will be like once the other eye is done.

I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present.