1/24/2021
Let's get this out in the open. I love winter. More specifically, I love snow. I am not particularly bothered by the cold; although, it is getting tougher as I get older. Things have been a bit different this year. I have not been out much. We got back from Costa Rica, and the weather was pretty lousy the week we had off before returning to work. Part of the weekends since the beginning of the year have been a bit ugly, too - dark and gloomy in the mornings. There is no snow. If this sounds like excuses, well, that it what I am afraid of. I have always looked forward to this time of year.
Heading into this weekend, the weather has been nice. I laid plans out in my head. The sun was going to be out on Saturday, and a Say's Phoebe was (still is) being seen in the southern part of the state. An afternoon trip down to Somerville sounded perfect; except I guess it was not. I did not go out. I slept in. Meander about a few tasks around the house, and then decided I did not want to make the trip.... My loss. The phoebe was seen, and it looks like there were some opportunities for some Short-eared Owl shots. Regrets.
With that in mind, the alarm went off at 6 AM this morning for my other weekend plans. I was heading north to shoot eagles. It's winter and the reservoirs are down. This tends to push wintering eagles towards open water, and it's not hard to figure out where to go to find that. I got up and checked the weather. Snow and ice around the area. I waffled. Laid back down, and then I got up. I was not going to spend the whole weekend in the house. I got in the car and headed up to Mississinewa Reservoir. I remember spending time here with my dad, when I was a kid. The area does not look like it has changed much in the decades since then.
The snow on the radar had cleared out without leaving a trace it was ever there. Winds were calm, but it was gloomy. The light had that peculiar yellow-gray tone to it that I find extremely difficult to color balance later. The color always looks a bit off, to me. A little more light would have been nice. I found John Carper, standing on the bank of the river. I was familiar with John's work (excellent eagle photographer), but I had not met him before. Nice guy, and he was very familiar with the eagles and their habits. We casually froze and talked for the next several hours as we waited for the eagles to do something. They mostly sat in the sycamores and ignored us. I did not get a chance for a great head-on feeding shot this morning. I did get one tail-shot sequence. Mostly, I learned that I have a lot more to learn about BIF photography. But I had fun. At least until the weather front moved in. The winds went from negligible to strong and cut right through the clothing I had on. A half hour later, I was shivering and knew it was time to head home.
It was nice to finally get back out, and it was nice to meet John. It would be nice if we would get some snow. Maybe some winter white will get me out of these winter blues.
Thanks for reading,
Mike