We're of an age when we say good-bye to dear friends more and more. They're gone but their memories and their impact on our lives continue to resonate within us. And at this time of the year we feel their absence even more than usual and so we took some time out to remember all those relatives and friends that we hold dear who are no longer here to share Christmas with.
Carol has a tradition of remembering by tossing flowers into the river. It's a simple thing but it does take us out and gives us the opportunity to reflect on those who have left us beyond the normal scope of our day-to-day life.
It's not an elaborate thing, we stop, we think and reflect and then Carol tosses the flowers into the water. It's simple and, I think, appropriate.
And there they go . . . down the Cedar River to Lake Washington and then onto the Pacific.
Even as we pause for reflection, life continues to happen all around us. Regardless of our reasons for being there and tossing flowers into the river, the ducks are interested. Hahaha, they're always on the alert for anything edible that might be thrown in their river.
They're always ready for some free food.
They are quick, though, to figure out if there's no food involved.
This one was sporting her new hat.
Très chic . . .
And we met this couple. The Missus was a bit more brassy and inquisitive than the Mister.
It was a beautiful day for an adventure on the river. The days are getting longer now as the skies are getting grayer. Time continues to march on; the seasons change and Ol' Jackie waxes philosophical.
Hahahaha, pretty corny, I know.
We were there, by the river, when this happy duo came up and so, naturally, we (and when I say we, I mean Carol) started up a conversation.
It's Fiona and the nice lady that walks her now that her Master can't.
Fiona is a feisty and happy 15-year old and loves to play with the ducks along the river during her walks.
The ducks might have a different idea of what fun is, though.
"That crazy doggone dog!! Quack, quack and quack!!"
And there were a number of ducks out and about on this beautiful Christmas Day.
Hahaha, when you have a dog, you just attract friendly people. I looked back and saw Fiona making more friends along her walk.
I took the opportunity to play with the features on my new camera like this one . . . continuous shooting. That is so cool to hold the camera up and, click, click, click, click, click and click.
Bam!! As long as I keep the camera pointed in the right direction, I get some great (I think) pictures. Between you and I, I really went overboard with continuous shooting . . . at the end of the day I had almost 500 pictures.
Plenty of them were 10-20 shots of birds flying, planes landing and eagles eagling.
Hahahaha, it was great!!
Like this one, it is just one in a sequence of about 15 pictures of this seagull flying by me.
On such a beautiful day, we just had to stop at our park on the way home.
Look at that sky!!
My new camera has a reasonably wide-angle.
Me likey!!
And, just because I could, I got about 20 or so shots of this little guy coming in for a landing.
Hahahaha, I spared you all the shots but it was fun, y'know, just click-click-clicking away.
Some more of the dramatic skies . . . this time over the Trailer Park Marina. There's the Eagle Tree in the distance but, sadly, no eagles.
Artsy-Fartsy Alert!!
Yeah, artsy-fartsy, I know.
I can't help it . . . I likes reflections and I likes me some clouds, too.
Annnnnd, here we go again!!
Looks like smoke, doesn't it?
Rest easy, it's just some Cumulonimbus clouds. They pile up high like scoops of dark ice cream. These clouds usually bring rain showers.
Whup!! What's this!?!
Hahaha, it's just me playing, once again, with that continuous shooting thingie. What a better subject to practice on than a plane approaching for a landing.
And sometimes you get lucky. Again, it's such an easy way to practice panning and shooting in a continuous mode.
Another great way to practice is with a seagull flying around the lake.
Artsy-Fartsy Alert!!
I am predictable. So very, very predictable.
And some more skies over the airport. Kinda makes ya feel small.
So, disappointed we didn't see any eagles, we packed it up and left on our way back to the Hole-in-the-Ground when, what to our wondering eyes should appear!?!
But these guys!!
Actually, it started out with just the one, that guy on the right. Carol spotted him while we were driving along Rainer Avenue and so we pulled over. Then, while I was getting out of the mini, Carol was already out and watching from the sidewalk, the mate showed up flying in and settling on a lower branch.
Honest, you have no idea of the size of these eagles until you see them with their wings spread against something that allows you to accurately gauge their actual size.
These are some BIG birds!!
And when she landed, she and the Mister had some words for each other!!
Eagles usually mate for life and remain monogamous. If their partner should die then they will seek out another mate.
Up, up and away - the courtship rituals of mated eagles include lots of flying. It's an aerial courtship dance, which includes a series of intricate swoops and dives. The male and female might also soar in unison, with the male then streaking ahead and diving back toward his mate (guys do love to show-off for their gal). She turns her back on him and then 'presents her talons to his," according to an Oregon Zoo website. Courtship flying also includes mock attacks and chasing.
But things settled down and they began looking out for something they might like to eat.
Pretty cool, eh?
I admit, I get a real kick out of seeing these huge raptors. I've seen them a lot in the past month and yet I still get a big kick out of seeing them.
This time we saw them in a tree a bit farther down Rainier than where we saw them before.
Well, it was a gentle and good day. We got to enjoy the day, remember the reason, reflect on friends and family and get along in life.
Life is good.
Hooah!!
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