A RAINY CHEROKEE LAKE AGAIN

Wow - this is great weather for ducks.
It was pouring when I woke up this morning and I really had a strong pull on me to stay in bed.  Chestnut hound was laying against the small of my back and the warmth on that spot felt really good, as did the sound of the rain outside the window.  I would rather have been heading for the river today but, the schedule said Cherokee.  Shade started her tricks to get to the truck with me and I had no inclination to take her with me as it would be miserable for her on that wet boat floor with rain pouring down.

I went the whole shift without seeing any critters I wanted to photograph, until I was almost back to the boat ramp.  There on the shore was a bald eagle.  It was pouring rain and I didn't want to get the camera wet but, took a chance by staying under the roof of the boat.  I could only shoot at 1/100th of a second, hardly worth trying.  That speed wouldn't stop any sort of motion and that bird was moving around and jumping from rock to rock.  I tried.

 This is the best I could do.  I had to pass up some great potential shots of this bird.

 He is a very young eagle, probably around 4.5 to 5 years of age.  Look at his head and you can see that he still has brown plumage from his immature days.

That's the first bald eagle I've seen on Cherokee Lake in months.  At least they are here and I'm sure they will become more plentiful as time goes on.

A loud squabbling could be heard from the shoreline and a great egret and a great blue heron were at each others throats. I reached for the camera in it's case but, they broke up the fight before I could get the picture.  All I could do is catch them in flight as the heron chased the egret away.

The morning went slower than I would have liked.  The rain kept fishermen off the water for the most part and I didn't have Shade to keep me company.  All that combined with the lack of critters on this lake can slow down things to almost boredom.

It was good to see the girls when I got home.  I grabbed Shade and drove to Weigels Convenience Store for hot dogs.  They have great hot dogs.  I got us both two.  I like treating Shade well.  Those fat hot dogs are a meal - for both of us.

It was time to vacuum the stink bugs.  Yes - stink bugs.  The house is full of them.  I vacuum them one day and there are more the next.  When I lived in the Cherokee National Forest, I had swarms of lady bugs in the house.  They gathered by the thousands.  Here - its stink bugs.

The birds won't even eat these things.
Below, they can be seen between the insulated bedroom windows.  This is just a very few of what's on the walls and ceiling.

 Gotta go vacuum bugs.  See ya.