Nature Walk ~ Bald Eagle Spotting

On our nature walk this week we were treated to a spectacular show of bald headed eagles :) We have a network of trails that wind up the mountain behind our house and to our bottom field and it was down there that we came across a good half dozen of them.

A few of them were skittish and flew away but the others that remained eyed us curiously from their tree top perches. I would have loved to have gotten a little closer for a better photo as these ones are a little grainy but my little guy was so busy stomping tracks into the snow that I didn't dare go any further into their comfort zone *grin*.

Speaking of tracks we found these great bird tracks!

Now I'm not certain if these were from the eagles but we found them nearby and they look like the tail feathers of a large bird as it sat in the snow. I should have put my hand or shoe by them as they really were quite big. I have never found anything like this before so it was so neat to share it with the children :)

We hung around as long as we could before we became to cold to stay an longer but we got to see a few of them soaring back and forth between different trees and even a few juveniles that joined the older eagles. I wish I could have stayed much longer just admiring their grace and beauty. A true winter treat :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Breathing in Beauty

Being by the ocean has to be my most favorite spot to be :)
Yesterday I had one of those rare moments when it was just me, myself and I so instead of catching up on housework that I probably should have been doing I surrendered to the call of the ocean *grin*.

I took my mom with me, a steaming hot cup of coffee, my camera and we just sat and sucked in the beauty around us. Can you truly ever tire of the sound of the waves lapping at the wooden pilings under the wharf, the smell of salt and seaweed or the brisk wind that blows stray wisps of hair around?

When we arrived we were blanketed in a thick bank of fog but as it rolled further away we were greeted by the passing splashes of a pod of dolphins and the cries of the gulls as they soared along the air currents.

The surrounding mountains and islands appeared again...

and the tug boats and fishing vessels became more than just moving gray shadows and echoes of diesel engines.

Definitely a truly wonderful way to spend an afternoon :) How about you, where is your favorite place to relax and breathe in beauty?

Hugs,
Rosina