A SPECTACULAR AND COLD, COLD MORNING ON THE WATER

animal photos taken with Sigma 120-400 mm telephoto lens

I did mention it was cold out this morning, didn't I?  Whew!  Trust me.  It was more than chilly.  I'm going to bore you with some eagle pictures with this entry.  It just so happens that the morning light today was absolutely perfect.  Perfect light is rare however, near perfect light occurs frequently.  Imperfect and deficient light is the norm.  Eagle after eagle appeared on tree limbs overhanging the lake as I trundled by at my usual slow speed.  There was one eagle in particular that was framed by the bluest sky.  He was vibrant and appeared 3 dimensional.  The creature was simply dynamic.  Here he is.  Get ready to be bored.

The colors are vibrant  and everything appears as it really is.  Perfect light.  Just look at this magnificent eagle.

It would appear that I have fallen under his watchful eye.  Those eyes pierce clear through me.

The colors jump off the page.  Look at the determination and seriousness on his face.  Everything is serious to him.  Everything is life or death.  Eagles enjoy play occasionally while flying above the clouds on strong wings reveling in their view of earth from their lofty heights.  They can be seen gliding and diving at break neck speeds and zooming straight back up toward the heavens only to level out and soar majestically among the clouds.  Just look at his eyes - sharp as a razor. 

If he would have spread his wings and flown - I guarantee I could have taken some shots that would rival the best post card pictures you ever saw.  But, he wouldn't fly and I didn't want to stress him.  I moved on.  I'll never forget his piercing gaze upon me.  Never!

I noticed something as I motored along that I have not seen ever before on any of the lakes I've traveled upon.  Huge flocks of great blue herons were flying.  This is unlike the great blue to do this.  They aren't known to flock together like this.  They gather at breeding times and nest together but, to fly in great numbers is unusual, at least in my estimation.  I'll investigate this phenomena further.

This is very strange indeed.  I wonder.  I wonder.  If one doesn't wonder then, nothing can be known.  I think wonder is the instigation of the knowledge process.  Curious might be a better word.  But, I wonder.

A beautiful group, flock, of mallards flew in front of the boat.  I took the shot.  The results are below.  Remember - the light's perfect this morning.

Oh, I shot some more eagles but they were back lighted and didn't come out so great.  Below is one of them.

 You can readily see how poor light ruins the photographs.  These shots were taken on the opposite side of the lake with the sun high in the sky.  Harsh light.  Very harsh!

This eagle barreled out of the trees and flew over the boat.  I made a quick seat of the pants camera adjustment and took a couple shots.

Washed out pictures.  Oh well - they all can't be great.
A young eagle launched from a limb that was in a very shaded area but he entered back lighted sky.  

I quickly switched to spot metering for these shots and kept my fingers crossed.  This is tough shooting.

It was time to leave and get back to the truck.  There was one more fisherman I needed to interview. He had a dog in his boat.  He must be a man of ethics.  We grabbed each others gun wales and had a great discussion about dogs and fishing.  A great discussion!  I told him I would email him the picture.  He was a very, very nice guy.  Dog lovers are that way.  

His dog is in the center of the boat.  German Police Dog.

The drive back was uneventful and pretty.  I was frozen to the steering wheel.  The only thing that saved my hands were the hand warmers I received from a friend in a Christmas present.  Thank you Anne.

This was a great morning.  It was very cold but, great none the less.
I've got some neat things lined up for the very near future so stay tuned in.  Monday is a day off and I'll be going to Chilhowee Lake to the old Scona Lodge site with a friend who has a metal detector.  We are going to look for an item that was lost decades ago. It should be a nice adventure.  Then, a canoe paddle ride is due for Indian Boundary Lake.  Possibly Christmas day would work out for that or, maybe Christmas eve.  We'll see how it goes.  Then, you'll see the great Christmas dinner I'm cooking up for the girls.  I heard that turkey isn't good for dogs so, I'm going to get a couple chickens and cook em up for the girls.  Only thing is that I've never cooked, baked, fried a chicken in my life.  This ought to be an experience to photograph.  It can't be that big a deal - I'd not think. 
 Last but not least - I'm all set to go over the fiscal cliff.  I got the canoe all ready to go and lots of camping gear to load into it just in case I'll be camping at the bottom of the cliff.  Don't know how high the cliff is but I got climbing ropes too, just in case.  It probably has some deep, dark, abyss with hungry monsters at the bottom of it.  Don't worry.  I'll photograph the whole thing.

 So, that's all for this entry.  Thanks for looking at it.  See ya all later.