This is a photo of the only bald eagle in the wild that I have ever seen in my 62 years of existence!
This afternoon I was driving back to Colorado Springs after taking Cyrus half way to meet his grandfather, and I was .6 miles east of Punkin Center on highway 94 when I came to a lone, bare tree beside the highway. Up in the top branches was a very large bird, and as I spe
d past I looked quickly to see what kind it was. The sight of America's national bird peering down at me jolted me to attention, and I immediately braked and swerved off to the right hand shoulder, grabbed my camera, and hopped out of the car. As I was zooming the lense in for a better shot, a car heading in my direction passed the tree, and the eagle took flight. Perhaps it was cautious of my attention to him (or her) also.I went ahead and took one quick shot, knowing that it was an impossible blur, and waited for the eagle to circle and return to its perch. For an instant, the impressive bird seemed to consider settling back on its branch but then changed its mind and winged away to a stand of trees further north. I seriously considered following after it, but I had an appointment within the next thirty minutes which I could not miss. Besides, for all I knew, the bird was headed for Nebraska.
I had to content myself with admiring it until it disappeared from sight. Wow -- what a moment.
I am posting this photo because it reminds me not only of the wonderful bald eagle but also of the fact that it does not take a perfect moment to create a perfect memory. Very few things in life come off with perfection, but the memories of each special occasion are still precious, flaws and all. This fuzzy little blur in the sky will still create an image in my mind's eye of a stately bald eagle perched high in the bare, dark branches of a single tree beside a lonely highway on the plains of Eastern Colorado. I couldn't ask for a better picture than that.
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