December thaw, solstice observations

It is not every day we get to see an osprey and a bald eagle on different legs of the same trip. We saw the osprey perched atop a telephone pole in Crystal this morning. Don't ask what an osprey was doing near the heart of the Twin Cities metro area when almost everything is frozen over. As we neared home, returning from Crystal, we were buzzed by a bald eagle over old Highway 61 in Wyoming.

bald eagle feeding on whitetail deer

Photo by J. Harrington

I'm always delighted and impressed when given an opportunity to see either of these large raptors. Although far from sure about it, but I have the impression some eagles may be overwintering in our neck of the woods. Might that be a sign of climate change? Eagles and ospreys are both fish eaters, but eagles eat at least their share of carrion. Ospreys, not so much. According to Audubon, the osprey commonly breeds in Minnesota but should, at this time of year, be wintering on the Gulf Coast. One of the nicer aspects of living in Minnesota, as far as I'm concerned, is that seeing eagles, ospreys, wild turkeys, coyotes, and a variety of other, large, wildlife, while not common, is also not rare. Does the word infrequent seem appropriate?

celebrating Winter Solstice

Photo by J. Harrington

Last night the Better Half and I briefly enjoyed a Solstice celebratory blaze in our fire pit. I could feel my atavistic impulses bubbling to the surface. No doubt soon I'll be rereading some Jim Harrison poems, similar to this one.

Man Dog

By Jim Harrison

I envied the dog lying in the yard

so I did it. But there was a pebble

under my flank so I got up and looked

for the pebble, brushed it away

and lay back down. My dog thus far

overlooked the pebble. I guess it's her thick

Lab fur. With my head downhill the blood gorged

me with ideas. Not good. Got up. Turned around. Now I

see hundreds of infinitesimal ants. I'm on an

ant home. I get up and move five feet.

The dog hasn't moved from her serene place.

Now I'm rather too near a thicket where

I saw a big black snake last week that might decide

to join me. I moved near the actual dog this time

but she got up and went under the porch. She doesn't like

it when I'm acting weird. I'm failing as a dog

when my own kind rejects me, but doing better

than when I envied birds, the creature the least

like us, therefore utterly enviable. To be sure

I cheeped a lot but didn't try to fly.

We humans can take off but are no good at landing.

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