Rob, As I look at #1 it gradually grows on me, but only to about the age of the "terrible twos." I'm not quite sure what I find missing. I try to visualize it with much greater depth of field so that the background comes into focus, but then it gets too busy. Nice try, but to me it doesn't quite make it. On #2 I have the same problem Lois has with the bokeh. I think what I'd have tried with #2 is enough depth of field to bring out the background grasses and eliminate bokeh altogether -- assuming the wind wasn't blowing. Problem with that approach is, I don't know what was farther back. If more depth brought out something other than snow behind those more distant grasses that approach would bomb.