Hello Eagle Friends,
Winter is still here with the appearance it will cling to our borders at least another day. The air temperature was only 1 above today, and with wind chill it was easily -15 to -25 below zero. Schools that weren't closed for President's Day, were closed due to the wind advisories.
The drive down was snowy, but the plows had done a great job at keeping the roads cleared.
When we arrived I immediately noticed an eaglet circling above our truck. I looked closer and found out it was Damain Danielle, our 2007 oldest twin. I looked everywhere for Dorothy, his sister, but didn't see her. I couldn't get my lens mounted on the camera fast enough and by the time I did, he was gone.
Then I saw Daedee, his mom, flying around just behind where he had just been. I took a few shots of her but these weren't anything but documentary shots. Then as I was turning around I caught sight of an eagle-shaped silhouette perched up at the top of tree on top of the bluff.
So I photographed him, and sure enough it was Damian. I waited for Dorothy, his sister, but she never arrived.
I still wonder if Dorothy is okay. I still question if that was positively her in that photo I took back in January. Maybe I was wrong. I kept asking, why in 41 days have I not seen them both together? I saw David and Donny, I saw Ditto each year, it only seemed natural to see Damian with Dorothy; considering how bonded they were to each other.
I questioned why I they weren't hanging around the nest area. If only I saw them close together, both in their eagle nest area, I would have the peace of knowing she survived. I have this memory written in my heart that I can't erase. It was from the last time I saw her. That piercing stare she gave me, now I believe that stare into my soul was her way of saying good-bye.
Em and me bundled up and hiked only a little ways out. Just enough to breath the cool air, take a few shots, and leave. My hopes for our first photos for our "Winter Tea," another children's book we are working on was just not in the "tea leaves" for today.
Or was it? "Hey Em, I know a tunnel, a cave, a place we could go and get out of the wind and still have our party. You in?"
She wasn't. So instead I had her unpack the holly leaf bread that I cut out with the cookie cutter before we left, and gave her the honey and said, try some holly leaf honey bread. I decided to skip the chicken noodle soup that I was going to heat up on the sterno can during our tea, but the truck was just not the place for that. We skipped the tea (apple juice) too, and the fruit cup.
I couldn't even get a crumb from her because she enjoyed that holly leaf honey bread so much that she ate all four pieces and still wanted more. This is the same daughter that I can't even get to eat bread. So in preparing for the Winter Tea, I learned a new trick: cut the bread with a cookie-cutter. Good-bye ugly, dry, brown crusts. Hello--honey.
We moved on and found one Nest 6 eagle perched above the half frozen pond. The swans and geese had their heads tucked under their wings. Then those noisy mallards came quacking in.
Stirring up the entire pond. The swans lifted their heads, and opened his beak at the sudden, close approach of the mallards, and the other swan went back to resting.
However, when I looked back for the Nest 6 eagle he was gone. He must have been fishing for
a duck again.
No sign of eagles on any of the nests today. It's just the weather I tell myself. It will all start changing in the next week as we enter the prime courtship week. I hope I am there to document each pair. That is my prayer. I also keep praying that we don't have a spring flood. There is so much snow out there just like last year and we have our snowiest month coming right up.
No sign of little bunny, the cottontail today. Em said, "Maybe he got eaten up?"
"No. He can squeeze into that cave pretty tightly."
Maybe he'll be back tomorrow?
"Hey Em look up ahead, there's Sweetie, the red-tailed hawk."
"Where? I don't see him."
"Right there, 11 o'clock on that tall tree, see his silhouette?"
"I see him now."
I pulled over and said, "Hi Sweetie." and the hawk stretched his head looking down at us.
I took a handful of pictures. "Thanks Sweetie, see you tomorrow."
We drove off and I could see Sweetie still watching my truck as we took the bend to nest 4.
I drove up looking for the red-shouldered hawk from last week, but maybe he has moved on.
Instead I thought the pine trees and pine cones were something to photograph today. Tree's that were planted by the Winona County Highway Dept. over 50 years ago, finally, today get their 15 minutes of fame.
It was already 4 P.M. and it hardly seemed like an hour had passed. We slowed down by the spot we found the river otter yesterday, as Em said, "Mom, that was probably our one in a million chance yesterday, wasn't it?"
I chuckled, "Yes, but I'm going for a second chance--you in?"
"Yeah!"
We slowed, but the otter wasn't there, not today anyways.
We hit the road to home and I was just amazed at the snow drifts these winds had built.
In some places there were eight foot drifts that formed up against walls, buried fences, and I said to Em, "The animals must be stranded in the woods. How could they walk or run through those huge drifts in the open fields? How could they outrun a predator?"
We looked up and down the fields and couldn't find even one set of deer tracks. Then as we
looked back to the sky a circular rainbow presented us "ROYGBIV" or red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
As I pulled up to my gallery and turned off my truck I sat thinking off all the neat things we
saw today. From Damian flying with his mother, Daedee, to the winter tea party in the truck,
the swans, the laughter, the snow drifts we both gave each other a high five as I said, "Day 41--well done--kiddo."
Tonight I made us some sloppy joes, red-skinned potatoes, the chicken noodle soup we skipped from the Winter Tea, and some garlic cheese noodles. "These are the best sloppy joe's I've ever had," replied Dave. I handed him a plate of dessert.
"That looks great, what is it?"
"Apple pie." I smiled.
"Oh yum, I love apple pie." said Em."
"I didn't have any apples though, so I had to improvise."
They both burst into laughter, "What did you use applesauce?" Dave questioned.
"Yep."
We all laughed and ate up our "applesauce pie."
I'm looking forward to Day 42.
I'll see you on the journey--
Lisa
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment