Wildlife

Live Eagle Cam 2013 at Duke Farms

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

They’ve hatched! Two Bald Eagle eggs have hatched on March 25. The live eagle cam at Duke Farms allows the viewer to keep an eye on the two parent Bald Eagles as well as their hatchlings through a web cam in the adjacent tree.

BaldEagle-DeadTreeAlaska2

There was no web cam in 2012 due to issues with the functioning of the camera; as the eagles were already building their nest, the repair would have been too disruptive so Duke Farms decided to forego the camera for the eagles’ well-being. But the site is now back with great footage and several new features. You can now view select video clips to the right, among them a red-tail hawk attempting a fly by on the eagle nest. Watching the eagle defend the nest is amazing.

Take a breather from your day and join in with nature … watch this great eagle cam.

A Sense of Wonder

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Chickadee2Some might also call this a sense of awe. Today, as I’m sure you’re aware, one of the most commonly used word to describe what someone really likes is awesome. I use it myself. But nowadays everything is awesome. When everything is awesome, then really, nothing is awesome.

But semantics aside, how wonderful is it to find that sense of awe, of true wonder, much like a child. It’s a gift. I stumbled across it just the other morning. I was sitting by the front windows journaling and I happened to look up to see a flutter of chickadees and a male cardinal hopping about the porch railing and in and out of an adjacent yew. The chickadees were puffed up to keep warm and quite busy with whatever they were doing.

Without moving, I just watched them, yes, in awe, of their singular beauty. I became aware that I was smiling and just sending that reverential feeling to them. And then they stopped, cardinal included, and looked directly at me. I don’t know quite what a bird can perceive through glass, but I have no doubt that it was my energy that spoke to them. And for brief moments we all seemed as one, just being, time suspended. Now that … was truly awesome.  Then time and motion resumed, them hopping, me watching.

I believe we have far too few moments like this in our lives. We are too busy, too fractured, too distracted, but the moments are there, waiting. Ask any child. And all it takes is being still, stopping and looking. Really looking.

Here’s Looking at You, Kid!

/ still a dreamer / 6 Comments

Finally! Work subsided sufficiently that my blogging brain returned and I knew what I was going to write for a post as soon as I got the chance. But in the meantime, something else happened.

 

In the afternoon, the western sun bathes my office and upstairs bedrooms in warmth and light. Great in cooler weather, not so much in the summer. Anyway, about noon or so each day I go upstairs and open all the windows facing that way so as to soak up as much heat as possible to stave off the chill of the cooler autumn evenings and nights. In the back bedroom, Claude was soaking up that sun on top of a piece of furniture, too, but seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was being closely watched!

Then he realized … it moved! As I moved with my camera, the praying mantis got into prayer/attack position and rotated his head to keep an eye on me. Claude was interested only when he moved, which I suspect has something to do with an animal’s depth perception or ability to comprehend something on the other side of both screen and glass.

These creatures are so bizarre looking, but so fascinating. If they are symbols of good luck, which has been said to me, then I ought to be in for one big bucket-o-luck anytime soon!

Claude, below, not quite knowing what to make of this slow-moving creature. (I’ll get to that other post real soon. This was too good to pass up!)

 

Waiting for the Apples to Come In

/ still a dreamer

It’s gonna be a long wait, Mama Doe; it’s only June!

Mama has made herself quite comfortable weaving in and out of neighbors’ yards as of late. Sunday she appeared with her two yearlings who were not nearly as brave as she. While they stood somewhat apprehensively in the roadway, Mama casually chowed down a couple of  my neighbor’s hostas, grazed thoughtfully on their lawn, and then jumped the picket fence of the folks across from them to see what other delicacy she might find.

I understand her under the apple tree. Once the apples come in, you can watch any number of deer and other wildlife feasting on those apples already fallen and those on the lower branches. But considering that there is so much browse available surrounding our neighborhood streets, I wonder why she chooses to come so close to humans. I’m guessing she has simply acclimated and is in her comfort zone.

The small irony which I could not get any closer to capture lest she run, is the child-size scarecrow sitting at the edge of my neighbor’s very well-fenced garden not 20′ away from Mama Doe grazing under the apple tree. I do not believe deer to be cunning animals, but I wondered … could her apparent search for apples have really been a sly stake-out of the garden?