February 21, 2013

• Finally Some Photos Again!

        Today is one of the last days for the backyard bird count, so I began the day sitting at the window with the girls, watching the feeders for all the different kinds of birds we could find.  Just after lunch, I took the girls out to their birding teachers' house for a group bird counting hike.  As we were driving to his house, we looked off into a field and saw a bunch of birds feasting on a deer carcass.  I did a double take, and sure enough, they were bald eagles!  Four adults and two juveniles.  I slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car with the camera.  As I began to shoot, one adult and one juvenile spooked and flew off, and as I walked slowly toward them the rest flew away one at a time, until only one remained.  He stayed and while continuing to eye me warily, all the while tearing away at the deer carcass.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

        On the way home from dropping the girls off, I stopped back and tried for a couple more shots, and got a text.  My son was feeling cooped up in the house and wondered if we could take a walk.   Isabel decided to come along, and we took the camera.  It may be cold still, but apparently springtime is just around the corner.  Trees are sending out their first buds.

  

  Some berries still remain from the fall.

  

  We saw the first robin!

  

  But it is, after all, still winter, and Danny and I bullied each other for time with the camera.  First, he got this picture.

  

  and this one, of a tree felled by a beaver.

  

  The geese have decided this will not be a hard year, and are wintering over.

  

  I got these two shots through the trees when I heard the geese honking crescendo, knew they were taking to the wing and began to pan along with the first motion I glimpsed.  

  

  

  and finally, Danny got a few shots of me and Isa.  I look like I got hired to be the little girl's bodyguard. I love the overcoat.  It's a soft, draping wool and very comfortable, but it was bought for me years ago for Christmas, and had I bought my own, I might have ended up with a coat that actually buttoned up the whole way to the collar. I like that I've had it long enough that I'm not uncomfortable wearing it just about anywhere as long as I won't be playing in the dirt. Only thing about coats for guys my height is they're made to accomodate much heavier men, so if you don't take them in they hang a little.  I knew that, but until I saw these pics I didn't realize how big around this coat really is.  Guess I'm gonna have to see if the local dry cleaner does alterations.  I used to use have to do that all the time when I was in the military, and at least in New Jersey and Texas, where I was stationed, most of the local laundries altered as well.  Isa had seen some pine cones and I asked her if she wanted to gather some to make feeders for the birds.  She thought it was a grand idea, so we gathered some, and she thought it would be best if I carried them, so guess who had a frozen hand when we got back to the car?

  

  My wife tells me this morning that the coat fit me well when I got it for Christmas that year, and it's only since I lost weight that it hangs so badly.  Guess that's not the worst of problems to have.  She also told me that if I spent a penny having that old coat altered, she'd not be happy and then proceeded to show me several places where the stitching has begun to unravel.  Guess it's time to start looking for another coat.  At least winter's almost over, so maybe I'll find a good deal this spring or summer when they're out of season.

  

  • 8:28 pm
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