WHERE'D THE STUFF GO?

Actually, I know why the animals are absent from the river.  Some are spending more and more time in their dens and foraging when the sun drops due to some newcomer humans on the water making a lot of noise with boats and guns.  It's geese season right now.  I had that on my mind the entire ride to the river and was depressed about it.  When I got the boat on the water and started to cruise the river,  I noticed there wasn't a single goose anywhere - not one.  Four boats covered with camouflage netting were strategically parked along various shorelines with their decoys set out and not even one goose was in the area.  I just photographed a flock yesterday and the shots are in the entry below this one.  The critters are learning....The otters will be more active and night, as will the beavers.  Beavers become lethargic over winter anyhow, feeding on stockpiled bark and greens they put away in preparation for cold weather.

Its just a crow.  Hey, there's not much to photograph on the lake right now.

I saw one of the bald eagles flying as high as I ever saw one fly and he was carrying an enormous stick.  It was more like a limb.  He was having difficulty making forward motion as he was bucking the wind way up there.  His wings flapped very hard but, he was not moving from his position in the sky.  I took a couple shots of him but the distance was so far he appeared tiny even with the use of the 500 mm.  I continued to watch him through the binoculars.  All of a sudden he let the stick fall.  It tumbled end for end as it dropped from that lofty height and crashed into the tree tops.  What a dramatic sight!  The eagle soared to his right and disappeared behind the top row of trees on the mountain.  Evidently some eagles repair or expand their nests very early.  I've not seen an eagle carrying sticks in October but, mostly they repair or build nests in December and January.

I have uncountable pictures of double crested cormorants but, I couldn't pass up some fellows gathered on a log.  It was going to be a very slow day for photography and I wanted to stay in practice with the camera.  Notice the turtle on the end of the log.

 On your mark!

 Get set!

Go!

Some turkeys wandered past as I was sitting in the boat finishing up some paperwork.  Actually, the shots came out fairly clear as they were taken in the waning light of early evening.

And finally, there's a certain beaver who is going to be in deep trouble.  He felled a tree near a farmers field the other day and the tree toppled over onto the farmer's fence, crushing a long length of it.  I notice that he not only cut the tree down but, was chewing all the bark off the bottom of it to store in his den.  When that farmer sees the damage I fear the beaver will be a "gone beaver."  I'll probably have to pay off the farmer to save the beaver.  I'd do it too.

The  colorful migratory birds are due in shortly and the river will be alive again.  It's the stone quarry, I mean, Cherokee Lake tomorrow and I may not even take the camera.  We'll see.  Thanks for reading my ramblings.