They sure are beautiful! Yes, these photos were taken from the same day as the story written - although the afternoon glow gives it more of a warm feel from the photos. I was situated along a small hill that put me at about the same height as the owl when I took most of my photos and the nearest background was about 60 yards away, so it blurred out any snow sitting on the trees significantly. The particular tree the owl was on had also had its snow blown off.