Fair Photos - September Dilemma

August is at an end, and summer seems determined to assert itself at last, here on the brink of September in Central Carolina. The busy days of back-to-school are already back to the busy days of school, and Hoot Owl Karma's late summer hiatus is at an end as well. With the end of summer comes the annual award-winning Lee County Regional Fair, hosted by the Sanford Lions Club. 

And with the Fair comes the Youth Photography Exhibit, which Jay and Hunter plan to enter again this year. Last year, we scrambled to select and print some of their favorite shots from the previous year on our home computer and arrived at the exhibition hall mere minutes before the entry deadline. This year we've endeavored to avoid the chaos of last; we have five days left, and counting...

But picking and choosing from a year's worth of special moments can be hard, and they've had a particularly tough time deciding this year. 

Here are a few of the shots Hunter's considering...

Barred owl, bill still bloody from a recent meal, peers placidly down from its roadside perch along Highway 15/501 in late December, while red-tailed hawk looks up from it's meal of gray squirrel just a few weeks later in the heart of campus at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The toad in the middle of the road is another possibility, captured this summer in the aftermath of a warm late evening shower.

And an impressively large horsefly which somehow made its way inside the car with Hunter late last fall would have to be a dark horse candidate at this point. 

Unfortunately, all these photos would qualify in the same category, so Hunter will have to choose just one of these four to go along with his landscapes, buildings, and people.
We'll let you know how it goes...