It was down on the Chippewa that I was blessed with one of the most
memorable, however fleeting, moments of my Life...there I sat on the stoop
of some FS cabin I'd be staying at for a couple of weeks in the Deer River
area...it was early evening, golden sun glows coming through the red pines,
even warm out (despite being Minnesota : ) during later April), minding my
own business, reflecting upon having just returned from the headwaters of
the mighty Mississippi (I think I recall being surrounded by alders, a
little trickle beside me, with the FS person...who I cannot recall at
all...proudly announcing that this is where it all began), anyway, I was
pondering how to best deal with the many months of mosquitoes ahead of me,
and all of a sudden, I saw two shadows on the ground. Of course, I
immediately looked up into the sun glows, and there they were...my very
first pair of Mr. & Mrs. bald eagles gracing my presence with their
seemingly effortless flight, ignoring me completely, they were only about 40
feet up and no, I did not measure it with Bob's laser! They went slowly on
by, they were so close I could see their eyes, and I swear they were
smiling, enjoying the sunglows as I was, and I thought to myself, what a
gift I'd just received, that I'd been smart enough to be outside enjoying
the golden glows just so I could witness my very first bald eagles up close
ever, so starkly beautiful and proud in their domain, and obviously in love,
of course, as they flew beside each other with their wingtips touching ever
so slightly...anyway, I assumed they would eventually find their supper as I
retreated inside to make mine. That was my very first day in the blizzard
state of Minnesota and it couldn't have been finer.

michele