This time of year has me traipsing dozens of miles, through every likely place that public transportation can drop me off, hoping to see just one of those dark blobs against the sky: an owl. When you see any of the glamor photos of owls sitting perfectly framed with their bright eyes open and arrestingly dilated, it’s so easy to imagine, “Well, lucky for that photographer that they happened to be there to see that owl.” Honestly, it almost never goes that way. One waits.