Not only am I blessed with a Guardian Angel but The Man and I have a Guardian Eagle who watches over us every day. Actually we have several Guardian Eagles that can be found in several different spots around the property.
It seems that the most popular perch for the eagles is the old wooden row boat that sits in the grass right on the edge of the pond. This must be the eagle equivalency of the "Iron Throne" from Game of Thrones. Only the biggest and baddest of the convocation of eagles gets to sit there. ( Are you impressed that I knew what a flock of eagles is called? I didn't ! Had to look it up. )
The eagle population up here on The Man's property is growing each year. These are Bald Eagles and each year the mature ones with their brilliant white heads can be found watching us every day. They aren't the least bit afraid of The Man and I and will perch in a tree right above us and stare at us just as interested in us as we are of them. There are probably a dozen mature ones and at least as many immature ones who don't have the white heads yet.
The other day The Man walked into the bedroom and stood looking out the side window where he could get a "birds eye" look at 3 HUGE old birds sitting on three different branches on a big pine tree that is slowly dying. The pine tree is along the driveway that runs across the property linking the two driveways to the road. The top of this particular tree started to die about a year ago and what ever is killing it is slowly working its way from top to bottom. At the moment the top third of the tree is bare, dead branches and our guardians love to sit there to get an unobstructed view of the two silly humans who live in this place. I can only imagine the conversations they are having amongst themselves. "Hey Harry, did you see the chubby one stuff that Twinkie into her face this morning?" or "Myrtle, can you believe she is sitting under that tree reading again? That's all she ever does!"
Perhaps they are sitting in the tree figuring out the work schedule for the rest of the group. They seem to have different places to sit so I can only think that they are in those places for a reason. The row boat by the pond is obviously where the "life guard" sits. He goes there early in the morning to check out the water and make sure there are no bears taking a bath before the rest of the gang comes down for a morning dip. Often there will be six or more eagles sitting around the edge of the pond or, on special occasions, there will actually be a couple of birds IN the pond splashing around like silly kids in a mud puddle on a rainy day. It only stands to reason that they would need a lifeguard.
The second favorite place to find them is in a large pine tree out on the edge of the property where the oldest apple trees are. The Man will be out on his lawnmower or tractor and stop right under this big pine tree where he and his friends will have a staring contest for several minutes. Let it be known that the eagle ALWAYS wins. Those birds can stare at you for hours without blinking. (Can eagles blink? I'll have to google that.). The noise of the tractor doesn't bother the birds in the least.
My all time favorite perch for our feathered friends is when they balance themselves on top of the fence posts along the edge of the back field. If you're lucky enough to catch one of the big birds come in for a landing on top of a 4' X 4" fence post it is a treat to behold. It would be like me trying to jump off the roof and land on top of a step stool without falling off. IMPOSSIBLE !! Yet these beautiful creatures manage this trick several times a day. Maybe it's a game they play amongst the young ones . . . "Hey Louie, bet you can't land on the fence post without falling on your head!" I have yet to see one fall off.
When we first arrived up here this spring the fields were a mass of mud. The grass hadn't really gotten growing yet so out in the middle of the back field there was a big, low, soft spot filled with mud. Our fine feathered friends would be walking around in the mud all day long. We could look out the kitchen windows and see up to 16 eagles hanging out together. Now that the field is planted they don't seem to sit out there as much. Or maybe that was the training ground for the young birds and school hadn't gotten out yet for the summer.
It is quite entertaining watching and being watched. I can only imagine what they must be thinking when I"m sitting out back in the sun writing a blog. "Martha, do you see her sitting on her butt again?! Good lord she hasn't done a decent days work in weeks !!!!"
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