No Eagle Phone

Everyone needs an eagle story, don't they? Even if you never see one and wish you had.  I started seeing eagles when I moved to the Midwest, but never expected to see them up close. Then, one day I was driving on a snowy road in my neighborhood and saw one standing about three feet in front of my car. He flew away without getting photogaphed because I'd left my phone at home.

I grew up wanting to live around mountains, and still do, but it hasn't happened yet. Instead, my husband and I found a place to live with a lake nearby, not ours, but still, lakes and mountains belong to all of us, right? At least, Ralph Nader said so.

Another eagle sighting occured on that very lake when we first moved here - three eagles sitting on the frozen over lake, a convocation. They were there for at least an hour, but the photos didn't get close enough and they looked more like blobs than the magnificent creatures they are.

Walking around the lake I see them flying, but am never fast enough to catch them. So it was with great pleasure that I got a call from a neighbor on Thanksgiving Day with news of an eagle in front of his house.

And there it was sitting on a branch, looking for lunch. She or he was extremely patient, enough so my husband could get a few shots like the one you see here. 

The lake below was full of dozens of ducks and sea gulls (which I thought were only on oceans, but what do I know). The eagle waited for hours until deciding to fly and catch something. 

There was an accompanying bird that looked more like a falcon flying right behind the eagle. Both of their wings were at least four feet across. It seemed like we had another photo possibility, but by the time we got our phones out, they were gone.

All this makes me think about enjoying the situation versus running to capture it. Which is something you've heard, no doubt, from others who say the same thing.

Is this an eagle story or a phone story?

Another question: why didn't the ducks and gulls leave? Didn't they know they were being hunted? Do they just accept the idea, or are they (blissfully or not) unaware of what's happening, and it doesn't occur to them to look up at the trees and sky?

I don't know. I admire the eagles' patience and the ability of ducks and sea gulls to at least "stay in the moment," as my meditation app always tells me to do.

On the other hand, I think geese would know what was happening and fly screaming into the sky before any eagles could catch them. Maybe that's just what I think geese do because they are so jittery.

If that's true, I agree with the geese because I myself am way beyond jittery. This trait was born into all of us humans to keep us from being snatched by life and eagles. Though my jitters seem to have been overdeveloped from the start.

I am trying, believe it or not, to undevelop this anxiety stuff. Watching the birds around here should give me some clues, but what I'm mostly absorbing aren't life lessons -- just the beauty of those in flight and the joy in seeing them talk to each to each other.

Or maybe I am absorbing something, I mean that last sentence kind of proves it. Right?  So, maybe this IS an eagle story. Hopefully.