Our life has changed so much already since we moved back to the country.  Everyday we seem to have some sort of adventure or surprise....some surprises not so welcoming....but, most are fun to entertain and keep life on a roll of interest.

I walked out of the cabin around 7 this morning to water my flower beds....this is part of my daily ritual ..unless it is raining...and then I go for a jog/walk to jump start my day.

However, I don't walk out of the door without a cup of coffee in hand.

This morning, was a huge exception to the cup of coffee.....in fact, I had it steeping in the french press and just left it alone until I got my bearings together on what was happening outside.

So, back to walking out the door........I looked toward the barn and there was something fairly large sitting in front of it on the road that looked odd...and out of place.

I then realized it was one of the owls....it was on the ground hunting.

I quietly, but, ever so quickly went back in to tell Dewayne what was going on....because I knew he would want to video.

This Texas humidity is hard on camera gear at times and you have to wait at least 15 minutes for the lens/cameras to acclimate to the new temperature from inside to outside.  It gets really frustrating when you know you may not have but a few short minutes to get a shot of something before it changes location or sees you.

We crouched down on the porch and watched this owl sit in a tree on a lower limb near the barn.

It would move from one tree to another until it found itself a nice perch on one of the larger trees directly across from the cabin.  Finally, we were able to slowly move from the porch into the yard area.

Its position allowed us to inch closer a little at a time while it would turn its head so we could get as close as possible.

There were two of these beauties....one landed on a branch in the same tree as it attempted to catch a squirrel for breakfast.  Then it flew off into the deeper foliage.

Our hearts were beating so hard and our adrenaline was pumping so much that we barely felt the mosquitoes.  Ha.  

We hadn't had coffee or breakfast yet.....we were truly awake by this time and it was just going to have to be put on hold because this was truly more important.

You never know what a morning will bring when you are willing to stop and look at what is really around you.  The best things in life often happen at the most unexpected times. 

Last evening we had received a text while we were in church that one of the owls was sitting near our cabin and another had landed on my mother n law's fence. 

There are two small dogs that live there at the house as well and the "panic" is that one of the curious owls will snatch up the doggies and have them for a snack.  But, in all honesty.....I think these beauties hang around because we have so many squirrels in the yards and we live near a pond ....so, there is plenty for them to feast on.

The photo below is the first time in my life I had seen a real owl ....in the wild and had ever caught one in my camera.   Needless to say it was a feeling that I can't explain.  Once again, it was unexpected.....Dewayne had surprised it while he was checking the fence line.  I was picking up sticks from the storm the day before and I had just looked up and thought I caught movement in the corner of my eye.    Dewayne saw me looking upward and asked if I had seen something fly across overhead.   We walked in the direction that we imagined it had flew into.   He looked up in the trees and then he saw it.    I just happened to have my smaller camera and lens on the mule with me....this little cutie was as curious of us as we were of it.

I think I will always be on the lookout for beauty and wonderful things around me.....today only conquers that. 

With the kind of day that we had following this morning....I can only believe that God knew we needed to start with something beautiful that He created because, unknown to us, our day was about to get a little stressful.

To make things short,  we had a trailer of scrap metal that we took to the metal yard, only to leave there with a flat on the trailer and no tire shop in town carried what we needed or open any longer for business.  We made it about 3 miles out of town to a gas station before the rubber fell off of the rim.  We parked and then realized that not only the trailer had a flat, but, the truck had a flat as well.

To make things even more stressful in this crazy heat/humidity, there were no tools to change either of the tires....nor was there a spare for the trailer tire.

We had to wait .......patiently, until even THAT wore thin.....on help to arrive. 

We were able to change the tires......after nearly 3 hours later. 

But, all I could think about during all of this......was our encounter this morning with the owls.  It seemed to make the day more bearable.

On a side note....I walked out the door this evening to check for any activity outside before it got too dark.....and I saw one of the owls sitting across the yard....needless to say.....I grabbed my camera and Dewayne grabbed his and we went on another "owl adventure" before it got too dark.

Those photos will come later......so for now....

Happy trails to you...

Over and out,

Mrs. Rogers