Yet another...

Ever have that feeling that you should do something ... no reason at all ... just this feeling is pulling on you to tell you to go or do something? I do occasionally. Wednesday that happened for me. As I departed the studio around 5 p.m. I thought of going home and popping in a movie I had rented. The Hitcher. Some scream flick that begged to be watched. But as I got outside Fort Scott I decided to head to Girard rather than home toward Pittsburg.

This direction would take me to Lake Farlington ... I had a fleeting thought that I just might get lucky and find a bald eagle to photograph. For those of you who aren't aware, I'm a freak about photographing bald eagles. I was an Eagle at Uniontown High School and that has rubbed off somehow and given me this freakish desire to see them and photograph them. Anyway, I got to the lake around 5:47 p.m. and drove to the spillway to see if it was passable due to high water. It wasn't. So I proceeded across anyway just to see what it felt like to have water push my vehicle. Stupid? Yes. Fun? Absolutely ... at least it was since I didn't get catapulted over the edge of the dam and die. I'm not too keen on that sort of death. Anyway (again), I made my trip around the lake and saw nothing. No sign of an eagle ... not that there are any signs ... but as I rounded the final turn and decided to go home I had that FEELING that told me to make one more pass.

I turned toward the big tree that I was told eagles generally chill out in and there it was. Massive. Biggest eagle I've ever seen. Stunneriffic. Magnormous. And then I unloaded about 50 megabytes of digital madness on the bird just as it sat in its tree. At this point I was three football fields away. But I needed that proof to show my wife since she has accompanied me on that very same trip before (with bad results). I made my way closer (about 50 yards) and sat down to watch. Shortly thereafter my new friend took off. I thought my chance of landing a cool picture were gone.

But then it swooped down and swiped an unsuspecting fish from the water, and yes, I got a photo but nothing great. And then it flew off into the sunset.

I wish I was an eagle.