lake,  landscape,  sunsets

An Afternoon Drive

January 23, 2023
Watson Lake on a January afternoon

As I turned onto Bingham Hill road I encountered a flock of 15 turkeys swaggering and fanning their tail feathers. I stopped, watched and listened to them. They are quite amusing. Took a dozen images but had too short of a lens for an image I would like to have had. A quarter mile down the road I came across a dozen mule deer grazing in the open field. Again I stopped to watch and listen. From there I drove to Watson Lake to sit at a favorite spot overlooking the lake. I soon heard the call of an eagle then watched it land on the ice with a fish in its talons. With binoculars I watched as the bird devoured the whole thing, leaving nothing. After the eagle flew away I sat in the quiet of the frozen lake. Behind me I could hear the sound of the Poudre River as it continued its journey eastward. So an afternoon drive became a series of spiritual experiences with nature. So glad I got out.

Swaggering and fanning their tail feathers

Retired. Having fun with photography. Journal daily. Meditate daily. Learning haiku. Have a love for fountain pens.

10 Comments

  • Earl

    January 24, 2023 at 5:57 am

    It sounds like a beautiful afternoon outing, Monte, which would also be recharging for me. Having survived the holiday seasons, those turkeys feel pretty brave now, don’t they? ~grin~

    Have a wonderful day!

  • Paul

    January 24, 2023 at 6:53 am

    I do love some turkey … 😉 We don’t see many eagles around Charlotte, but, I did see one one day. I was in a local nature preserve and noticed a large bird fly by and land in a tree. I thought that it was a hawk, as they are plentiful around here. It turned out to be an eagle, the first one that I’d seen in the wild. I felt very fortunate. I told my walking buddy about it. He thought that I must have been mistaken because he’d never seen one! Lol – Some weeks later, he was in the same park, saw one, and the next morning he apologized for his doubt!

    • Monte Stevens

      January 24, 2023 at 10:10 am

      One thing we are blessed with is eagle nest in many areas. The county makes sure they are protected so people do not disturb them. I drove out into Weld County one year where their were 20-30 eagles for several days. The lake had a large grove of trees along the lake’s bank where the eagles would gather. There was an area of open water providing a place for them to fish and habitat for geese and ducks, which they will eat also.