Hello Eagle Friends,
Today we had weather that kept the entire area on the edge-of-their-seats.
I was just getting ready to head down to the valley when the tornado sirens went off, and changed my direction. I thought I must have been the luckiest gal in the world, for if I had not worked all night, I would have been down there when the reported 50-80 mph winds whipped through the valley.
There were mudslides, semi's flipped, and clouds of every household name from shelf clouds to clouds with rotation. As I closed the windows I prayed for the nest and the eaglets that must have been experiencing the storm of their life.
It's one thing to be sitting in the storm with no option to get out, and quite another thing to be sitting inside where it's safe and trying to rip yourself from the clutches of your family who demand you wait.
I've sat through many storms like that out at nest 1, and for once, I was in the safe place at the right time when the storms hit.
The skies cleared and it actually turned into a gorgeous evening with the threat of more storms on the horizon.
So Dave cooked again, and did a quick drive through the neighborhood Kentucky Fried Chicken, and he asked for the desserts they stiffed us on Mother's Day, but they refused to honor that. I told Dave, remember, that's why the kid taking the orders said, "MMM that does sound good." He took them all and ate them. I just know it.
We both laughed.
I don't think they have passed any laws about eating KFC in your truck while your driving, so we ate on our way to the valley.
There was no activity on nest 7, unless you count the swirling clouds.
I begged Dave and Em to hike out with me to nest 1, but both decided it was going to be too wet. It was. I was soaked within the first few steps, but what choice did I have? I had to go find out how the eaglets were.
I had to re-break my trail which is an endless, tiring process of stepping down on the thick grasses.
However, when I got half way there I could see D'ODEE sitting on the north limb and he was looking back my direction. He probably saw me coming in long before I saw him.
I set up my cameras and recorded my openings while D'ODEE looked out towards the river, dipping his head down under the water heavy leaves of his cottonwood tree, looking for his parents, or Daniels.
I was looking for them too. Was Daniels okay? He's only been off the nest a week.
The only thing that was broken or damaged was the tall week with stems as thick as two
men's wrists put together. Folded right in half. I found a set of bear tracks, too.
Hmm. That might be my mystery animal, as I suspected. The one footprint is as big as my palm, with only one good right toe imprint in the mud, the rear foot in front of the right paw.
That screaming I heard a couple nights back, the one I told Em was a wild banshee--as a joke, was likely a cub that was running to mom. I really don't like the idea that they are out by the eagle nest, and I especially don't like that I'm hearing them nightly.
Of course, last year I found them around me in the afternoons. I guess we'll see what I get on the field camera for images, and hopefully it's not just leaves blowing across the lens and tripping the shutter.
You who use field camera's can probably relate to the experience of coming back and dumping your photos onto your computer and finding several hundred shots of leaves and no shots of your dream buck, or supposed big foot that took up residence in the back 40.
I wanted to hike out to nest 4, if there was enough light, so I started to pack my gear up when I noticed D'ODEE moving down the branch and studying Daniels exit path last week.
I looked away only for a second but quickly turned my head back as I heard D'ODEE crash land on another limb.
Sometimes you just have to trust your instincts. I mounted my 75mm-300mm on the camera body and I hit record, and for once in my life I had 60 minutes left on the tape instead of running on the last two minutes when action happens.
There is a look that comes on an eaglets face the moment they are ready to fly. A subtle tilt of the head, maybe a silent prayer, but I know there must be hundreds of angels there too. Maybe the eagles sense them, maybe it is their arrival and not the winds they are waiting for with that expectant look on their innocent faces.
D'ODEE appeared confident while waiting for the winds, and the angels; the ones that took his brother. He bowed before his maker and then he summoned them
with a faint call and whether it truly was the winds or the angels, they wasted no time in arriving under his wings for they silently lifted him into the sky as the thunder cracked.
I was on the wrong side of the tree, but only for a moment, because he circled the tree and gave me time to shoot at least fifty pictures of him, all angles of his face and his flight.
I am honored to be the one to officially announce that on this day, July 10, 2008, Thursday, during the setting of the sun behind the bluffs, during a loud crack of thunder, one week to the date, and almost to the minute of his brother fledging; our dear D'ODEE Brian Michael fledged before my eyes at the hour of 19:22 and in that moment--Americas' Eaglet became an eagle.
In his flight across the sky I thought of all you men, woman, and families who are serving in the war, and I thought of all of you who are waiting for your loved ones to return from the war, and I thought of how many of you won't be seeing your loved ones return.
D'ODEE Brian Michael stands for our men and woman who have served, he flew tonight into the thunder, passing in front of the sun becoming a silhouette. He is the only eaglet out of all of them I have watched fledge, that flew in front of the setting sun and to me the blackness of his flying figure was symbolic and represented the unknown flight before Gods' eye.
I hope that his flight, the last eaglet to become an eagle in this valley, is an answer to some of you who may be waiting for sign in your own lives. I hope God uses this eagle to bless you in your life.
He flew off to the cottonwood grove where there are many trees to land on. I'll look for him again tomorrow knowing there is no guarantees I'll find him in the thick of the woods and rivers before me.
As far as I know, all the nests are empty now, and most of my journey is complete on this years' project. I'll keep looking for the eagles knowing that if I'm patient, and I keep searching with all my heart, I will find them again, and again.
I lifted my lens to a shadowy cloud figure over nest 3. "Dave, Em, look at that cloud.
That's the spirit of Whitewater."
I video taped this important scene of this 184 day journey of a shadow shaped like a man's figure and in front of his cloud body were ten eagle-shaped clouds.
"Under the light of half moon rising on the pinks and orange hues of the sunset, the Spirit of Whitewater came to gather up his eagles."
We went to the St. Charles fair after the eagle project. We went on some rides that still have me walking sideways waiting for the other half of my brain to ride back into place. Em won some neat prizes, and I met so fair workers with an incredible story of their grand daughter who are going to share it with me for a book on angels I've been working on for over 5 years, gathering stories across the country.
We ran into Kraig, and I told him I just shot some pictures of his co-workers in the barn. They were telling me a story of how one of the turkey's jumped out of his pen last night and causing a scene with the farm geese, and poultry. I think the bunnies were fine with this ominous big bird stalking their cages.
So I took a picture of the men who went beyond their call of duty to lock up a wayward
turkey who was probably trying to skip out on the blue ribbon and save his neck.
After the fair we went to the midnight special showing of Journey to the Center of the Earth. There is no way to doze off during this edge-of-your-seat feature.
I'm looking forward to day 185.
See you on the journey--
Lisa
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