It's Not National Geographic, But ...

I was feeling really excited about my latest photos of a bald eagle ... until I saw the winning photo from the 2022 National Geographic Picture of the Year.

A bald eagle arrives to steal a perch on a tree log that offers a strategic view of the shoreline at the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve in Alaska. When other eagles drag freshly caught salmon in from the water, these bystanders swoop in to take a share. (Photo by Karthik Subramaniam) To see all of National Geographic's contest winners, click HERE.

In reality, I've entered eagle photos and other photos of birds in the Stafford County Fair before. They rarely get any ribbon at all. However, all my bird photos have been the equivalent of portraits - birds sitting still on a branch or on my backyard fence or, in the case of some visiting bluebirds four years ago, perched on dried grasses in our pasture.

There's no action like that spectacular photo taken in Alaska. (On the other hand, I know how hard it is to capture even these still photos with a small camera sans a tripod and telephoto lens. But when you enter a photo contest, you don't get to plead your case about how many clicks of the shutter it took to get a few photos in focus. The judge didn't know that in all my years as a Kansan, I'd never seen a bluebird before. Whether it was a ribbon winner or not, I still love the bluebird photos.)

See more photos from February 2019 in our pasture, by clicking HERE.

In contrast, photographer Karthik Subramaniam told National Geographic that he'd camped out near the shore of Chikat Bald Eagle Preserve in Alaska for a week to capture the perfect shot.

My single eagle was hanging out near the mama cows and their babies. Randy had taken a solo trip to drive through the cattle lot. But he called and told me about the eagle. We figured by the time he came back home to pick me up, the eagle would have flown the coop - or, the cottonwood tree, in this case.

But it was still there. It stayed for a little bit, then flew away. We saw it again in other trees, but it departed before we could get close enough for my camera's little telephoto lens. But, when we got back to the road, the eagle had again perched in the cottonwoods near the road, giving me another chance at some photos. We were there when it flew away both times, but I wasn't fast enough to capture the majestic bird in flight. I never am!

So - no camping out for days in the Alaskan cold for me. But I still was thrilled to get close enough to our Kansas eagle to take some "portraits" - whether they are National Geographic material or not.  

To see all of National Geographic's contest winners, click HERE. 

Ho, Ho, Oh No!

Photo by Jill

Our Christmas lasted about 3 hours before Grandma got run over by a reindeer. Well, technically, reindeer weren't to blame. But Grandma's Christmas plans were stampeded by Covid. Bah humbug!

Jill, Eric and the girls arrived, as planned, just in time for supper on December 22. The girls got in a little snuggle time with the kitties that Grandpa's been working hard to tame. Brooke & I read some books.

They were still working their way through a series of possible names for the kitties.

And then Jill got an email that changed everything. She had tested positive for Covid. We let the girls open their presents.

I snapped a couple of photos.

And about 3 hours after they'd arrived, they loaded up and left for home. 

Since Randy and I had been exposed, Brent and Susan didn't make the trip. (They had planned to arrive by noon on December 23.)

At least the sunrise was pretty on December 24.

Mom's birthday sunrise - December 24, 2021

But, just like last Christmas, our immediate family did the Christmas Eve/Grandma's birthday celebration via Zoom. (Photo at the top of the page.) Darci & Andrew were also stuck in Chicago, thanks to Covid. 

(FYI: Every eligible family member had received their vaccines and most had gotten their boosters. We are guessing that the Omicron variant is the culprit. Those who succumbed have had mild symptoms and feel like they have a cold.)

Those at the Pratt County farm gathering still did the annual requisite photos of the Great Grands with Grandma and Grandpa Moore. I borrowed them from Snapchat.

The great-grand photo was missing a couple of girls. 

And the annual grandchild photo with Grandma Moore was also down 2.

Instead of being at the celebration, Randy did his best impression of the Christmas song, "Up on the Housetop." 

 But it was actually up on the roof of a shed repairing wind damage to the tin.

I was there to call 9-1-1 if he fell off the roof. Thankfully, that was one Christmas miracle. 

Another Christmas miracle? Getting close enough to juvenile bald eagles to get a decent photograph. These two were hanging out at the kids' fishing pond at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

 

Maybe they were looking for Christmas dinner from their treetop perch.

We saw a slightly older bald eagle pair at another location, though only one stuck around for any photos (and they aren't great). It was just too far away for my little zoom.

We're fairly close to the Little Salt Marsh at Quivira, so we visit there on occasion.

We're about 15 miles from the Big Salt Marsh. But we made that drive on Christmas morning.

When life is disappointing, look for the beauty, I guess.

Thankfully, there was plenty of that.

Some creatures were stirring, unlike the Clement Clarke Moore poem ...

 

 

... though not a mouse (at least, not that we saw.) But we did see trumpeter swans.

And a great heron, who didn't seem to care that we were visiting for Christmas.

We hope to get together sometime in January to finish the Christmas celebration.  It will be just as sweet. ... Well, maybe not. The snack mixes will be long gone by then. I did send some home with Jill's family. I mailed some to Brent & Susan. And I met my niece Abby's family at Zenith to send a laundry basket full of snacks to the Moore family Christmas. Kinley and Eric gladly took Oreo cheesecake back with them. But Brent & Susan missed out. I didn't figure it would mail too well.