Mink are known as fierce predators and I have glimpsed them at the lake.
But I didn’t expect to see one contemplating the dawn sun as perhaps a tasty morsel…
Haw River
Categoryremembrance: October 1, 2007
Seven years ago today, October 1, 2007, I was badly injured in a vehicle accident. By all the measurements and experiences of the investigators, I should not have lived. But, I did. By the Grace of the Creator and the loving kindness of family, clients, colleague and friends old and new, I found my way through the repairs to both body and soul. Yes, I have a permanent disability – my left side, especially my left arm will not ever be as they were before the accident. Which brings me to the two photos I am posting today. You see, first Stumpy, the great blue heron in the first photo, helped me see that though he had a broken leg that had healed crooked and was missing most of a toe, life was for living, even when he landed wrong and missed the fish because of his disabilities. Stumpy went Home about a year ago. I miss him. Then, Ball Foot, in the second photo, showed up this February, left foot all curled and crippled and left leg still carrying the twist of fishing line that had led to the bent foot and toes. I watched as Ball Foot learned to fish by literally throwing himself face first into the water. Eventually Ball Foot adapted and could stand on the twisted foot and fish almost normally. Ball Foot went Home this week. I miss him too. The birds first of Yates Mill and then the birds of Jordan Lake have sustained me, distracted me from my own hurts and given me the chance to share with each of you the joy of the Creator’s universe. Thank you for sharing this journey with me.
Stumpy
Ball Foot
stare
great blue heron displaying the intense stare at the beginning of the fishing strike
proud
two year old bald eagle, sure of his place in the world
sky halo
I sent this photo to WRAL and Mike Moss of the weather bureau was kind enough to reply with the following explanation of what I photographed at 8:06 AM this morning at the Jordan Lake dam using my iPhone 5S. The photo is not edited in any way.
“Hi Ellen, You captured a nice example of the 22-degree halo, formed by light passing through a layer of millions of tiny hexagonal ice crystals that happen to be both well-formed and more or less randomly oriented. That happens on occasion with sheets of high cirrus clouds like those passing over the area this morning.”
[the small green dot at the top of the halo is from my iPhone]
where begins
Let me ask you this: where begins the flora and ends the fauna or is it begins the fauna and ends the flora?
doc ellen's journey 