A PAIR OF EAGLES

No, I didn't mess with the colors.

 Look carefully in the above picture and you'll see three deer.

I learned a bit of depressing news last night and I'll touch upon it after I show you the latest on eagles.  You might remember the big nest I mentioned a couple entries back where I observed one adult eagle but have never seen the second one and thought she must be deep inside the nest or even worse.  Well, look below:

This is a great discovery and a relief to find them both safe and getting ready for the brood that is sure to appear in the springtime.  My schedule always seems to have me in this area in the morning and I constantly have to deal with the sky background but late afternoon light will cure all this white sky stuff.

That nest is huge and well designed, resting on several thick limbs that will share the support of it's weight.  The eagles will be totally below the blowing wind and snow when they get tucked deep into and on the bottom of the nest.

It's going to be an interesting spring around here as far as bald eagles are concerned.

Last night I answered the phone to a sobbing lady on the opposite end.  This is the lady I rented from for seven years while I lived in Greenback, TN.  She owns 40 acres of mountain with a tiny little brook at the bottom of one of the steep hillsides.  This is the place I photographed the beaver dam a couple weeks ago and posted pictures while expressing excitement of photographing them next spring.  The beavers appeared in late Fall 2013 and quickly created a little pond that could be better described as a tiny wetland.  The beavers had created a gorgeous little habitat back along that mountain base on the little creek.  The voice on the phone was whimpering and I could tell she was very upset and finally she said, "they trapped my beavers. They killed them and the dam is broken in the center."

I didn't tell her but I knew it would be only a matter of time before the "sportsmen" of East Tennessee would see the beaver dam and take the animals, ignoring the private property signs that surround the little meadow property.  These beautiful animals, that were actually wanted and invited to stay, could not be left alone.  Even on this private property where this lady welcomed and relished their presence and looked forward to daily visits to their beaver pond, where the beavers would surely be safe was not secure enough.   And so called "sportsmen" wonder why they are denied access to private property to hunt and trap.  Trapping in particular is an atrocious method of killing an animal and I view it as a cowardly act.  I despise it and firmly believe it should be outlawed, at least outlaw leg hold traps.  And, I'll say it - I dislike any person who traps wildlife with a leg hold trap.  If you have no problem with causing pain, terror and torture to a wild animal and ending it's life with a club, then I say to you "re examine your conscience cause there's something dreadfully wrong in there and if you're promoting trapping wild animals to your children as a fun thing to do - shame on you for it".  I'll not say more about that disgusting pastime.