HOLSTON RIVER AND WIND

This is just a short entry, I think.  Well, maybe not.  The wind was ripping on the river this morning but the sun was out and the temps were fast approaching 80 degrees.  That means no jacket.  Whoopee!

I had just made the turn to go upstream on the Holston when I saw a juvenile bald eagle soaring close to the water while fishing.  I know by now that I can't get close to a bald eagle when they're engaged in soaring over water.  Just can't do it.  I pulled the boat into neutral and took my best shots.  The wind was rocking the boat like it was on springs.  No big deal.  Some of the shots had to come out.

He would cruise down close to the water's surface but never did grab a fish.  These shots are really far off and I didn't think many would turn out but - I'm surprised at the clarity.

You may see a pair of wood ducks back in the shadows in the following shot if you look closely.

A Beaver Lodge near the main river channel

I don’t usually photograph double crested cormorants very often anymore due to the fact that I have hundreds of pictures of them.  This guy, however, was asking to be photographed.
.
This wind is intense.  Wind combined with river current is hard to manage when its necessary to stop on the water to talk to folks.  The electric motor and prop would not hold the boat.  The current combined with the 25 to 30 mph wind took the boat where it wanted to.  I told you this was a short entry.  The critters were all under cover to keep out of the wind today.  Below is another beaver lodge.  It’s a big one.

King-sized Version of a Beaver Lodge

I was nearing the mouth of Beech Creek.  The morning on the water was over.  A touch of sorrow awaited me at the boat ramp parking lot.

Rough Water

When I beached the boat I saw a lone dog.  He was one of the discarded ones.  Alone with that lost look on his face and distrust in his eyes – he watched me with an uneasy look,   He was an old dog but, appeared to be in  good shape.  I loaded up the boat and was ready to leave.  I leaned against the truck door and looked at him laying there.  What the heck.  What’s one more dog in the family?  I slowly walked toward him and he got up and walked in the other direction, glancing back at me.  I couldn’t approach him.  I somehow felt relieved that he wouldn’t let me get close to him.  Then, I felt ashamed of thinking that.   He let me off the hook about taking him with me by not allowing me near.  I was putting myself through some kind of emotional head game.  I jumped in the truck and didn’t look back.  I would have taken him home had he let me.  He was a pretty boy.  Pet owner is a misnomer.  The term is pet users.  When through with the toy, it breaks or gets old – throw it away.