When I last posted, I was just coming down (or is it up?) from a near (not really) nervous breakdown concerning my recent lipid panel test results.
Since then, I have pretty seamlessly entered back into the world of normal-ish eating and continued 4-mile woodsy walks and photo creeps to launch a counter-offensive on the damage caused by late summer/early fall’s depression-fueled deli hoagie dinners and inactivity under the covers in the Bed of Torment.
I got out Saturday morning for another quick 4+ miles at Deerfield, and unbeknownst to me at the time, I fell short of a 25-mile week of foto-footzing by about a 1/2 mile. Shit.
A 25-mile week wasn’t really part of the week’s plan, but when I saw that it was doable, I went for it (I love how I say this like I was executing a dramatic passing move in a race, but in reality was lumbering around the woods by myself) and sadly failed. Sort of.
Sunday was a scheduled day of slack and sloth, but instead, I headed to Meridian Park for a short photo creep that would nudge me over 25 miles for the week.
I stumbled around the river and pond area of the park, taking photos of hoards of hungry robins gorging themselves on berries and nature nubbins, and got a decent shot of a heron in a nearby tree before it took off to go do whatever it is that herons do in their free time.
***
I crept about a mile, took pics, and then headed home to watch Liverpool suck it up against Arsenal (boo!).
As I made my way home, I passed a farm field that has had a bald eagle nest nearby for years, and as I approached, I saw a BIG dark figure in a tree near the road. Could it be?? YES!
I slowed down, pulled over, and excitedly ejected a non-existent CD from the console, thinking I was putting on my hazard lights. I grabbed my camera, got out of the car, and slinked closer, firing off pics just in case it took off. I stopped, composed myself, and hoped for the best as I clicked the shutter button a few more times.
After another step or two, the eagle had enough of me and gathered itself for takeoff. That’s when I got my favorite shot, seen here.
My stoke for finally capturing a legit (for me) photo of a bald eagle was way stronger than the quality of the actual image, but I didn’t care. I finally got a worthwhile image of an eagle! So what if the sky was blown out, and I had to try to recover as much as possible in Lightroom? I finally nabbed my “white whale!”
Sort of.
Capturing a “pretty good” image of a bald eagle in nature has only made me want more, better photos of these majestic birds that, as Americans, we become a little too complacent to seeing images plastered on Made in China, Wal-Mart-sold jingoistic t-shirts and right-wing “sedition-wear,” rather than recognizing them as the true, natural living wonders they are. I’ll know when I get the photo that’s “the one.” Until then, I’ll keep creepin’.
I finished the week with 25.47 miles in my feetz. Now to do it again.
Later.
NOTE: Hiking photos were taken with an old ass Canon s95, and photo creep pics with the Nikon D4.
SOILED SOUNDS TRACK OF THE POST:
I wanted to keep going with the indie vibe, but I really need to give a shout-out to one of the best sludge/metal/doom/stoner bands in the world: Red Fang.
Red Fang has been on almost constant rotation in the Cul De Sac Shack for a few years now (much to Wifey’s chagrin), and if you dig any of the genres mentioned above, I highly recommend them. I also recommend checking some of their live sets and official videos. The live shows are loud and tight, and the music videos are some best funniest you will see.