I really wanted to go x-country skiing today but the temperature hovered at -25C.  That wasn't so bad.  I've been on the trails in that temperature.  It was the windchill that kiboshed that plan today.  The wind brought the temperature down to the high -30Cs.  

There was plenty of action in the backyard to occupy my time.  I made a coffee and sat at the kitchen table watching all the birds come and go.  They were very busy; coming frequently to the suet and peanut bell in front of the window.  The chickadees and downy woodpeckers entertained me for quite some time.  Nuthatches and grosbeaks flew in to the tray feeders.  I filled the feeders in the morning and had to refill in the afternoon.

The deer came for their offerings.  Two young ones showed up first but one was not about to share.  Every time the second one would come close, the other would rear up and try to stomp on her.  When the first two left, the group of seven showed up and they were fighting over food as well.  I wish they would have understood me when I mentioned that  there were two bags of feed in the garage.  I wouldn't let them go hungry in this cold weather.

Since I couldn't spend time on the trails, I decided to go for a drive to Elk Island National Park.  The wind drifted snow across the highway and blew the fluffy snow off the evergreen branches.

I didn't see one bison, elk, moose or deer on the way there.  They must have been hidden from the wind.  Just as I was thinking about how the trip turned out to be a bust, I spied a Great Horned Owl sitting atop a snag beside the highway.  I actually drove passed it until I realized what I had seen.  I backed up with the hope that it was still sitting there and I was lucky enough to get a couple photos of that beauty.  My binoculars were sitting on the kitchen table so there was no up close viewing this time.

As I was driving south along the park way, I noticed some sun dogs in the sky.  I knew that one could see them in very cold weather but I never knew the explanation for them.  I learned something today.  I liked the un-scientific definition the best; light refracting through the 'diamond dust' (ice crystals) which acts like a prism.  For me, they are beautiful winter rainbows.

I can tell that it is going to dip to -30C or lower this evening.  Things are creaking as they contract in the cold.  There is not a cloud in the sky and the moon is almost full.  It's cold out there but it's a beauty of a moonlit winter night.