Sleeping in the Forest

Today I helped some friends who work for the local conservation district plant lots and lots of trees along a stream that is heavily used for cattle grazing. Scouler's wIllow, spirea, red osier dogwood, snowberry and blue elderberry were the plants of choice. It was hard work, but very gratifying and beautiful- the sun even made an appearance.

On my way home I decided to try to find some Native American teepee sites that are still visible. I wandered on a gravel road through the mountains, and as I passed a particular pull-out I got a good feeling so I stopped to hike around a bit. As I got out of the car I scared off a large adult bald eagle. Damn, I thought.

It was a lovely spot with big, old moss and lichen covered oak trees and firs. I could hear a lot of birds- nuthatches, robins, ravens squaking, even a pileated woodpecker banging away somewhere. I sat in the sun enjoying the silence when I heard a wing whir, something big, and looked up to see a juvenile bald eagle landing on a snag nearby. I grabbed my camera and caught these:





It stayed there for longer than I did, which was a while. We definitely looked at each other and it didn't seem to mind me being so close. Needless to say, being in close proximity to a wild eagle is awe inspiring in the least. I never found the teepee imprints, but had an amazing experience nonetheless.

On the way down the hill I spotted a pair of ruffed grouse on the roadside:



These are the first live ones I've seen, a year ago I came across one dying on the road right after it had been hit by a car. It was a sad day. Today, however, was a good day as these grouse were alive and well.