Larry A. Smail's Blog

Immature eagle

 Yes, the night was long since the valleys darkened early and the fact I sleep on average six to six and a half hours a night.  I entered the tent at dusk and began to write down some thoughts and read. I discovered, as I always do when I read, that I was becoming tired. I dozed off only to wake up after eight o’clock.

I exited the tent and added more wood to the four hour fire. It wasn’t long the flames were rising high again.  I had some summer sausage and would enjoy a burnt one for a late supper. After I ate I entered the tent again to try for some sleep. I had two sleeping bags and extra clothing so I was quite warm in the cold temperatures.

The next time I woke up the side of the tent was lightened up. The moon had finally risen over the top of the mountain across the Sinnemahoning Creek. I went outside to see better. The woods was bright and the stars shined bright in the clear and crisp conditions. It was beautiful! The clouds within a few hours had dissipated. Frost was going to be the outcome.

I laid in the tent listening to the peacefulness. I could hear the fast moving waters of the creek and the cracking fire. At one point I heard a Barred Owl and not very far off. Towards morning I heard a Great-Horned Owl hooting up the valley.

Around four in the morning I woke up to an extremely dry throat and mouth and a thickening sensation . The cold weather must have activated my   sinus issues. I drank some carbonated pop to lesson this issue. Since I had been laying fairly prone, too. I went to sleep the in the jeep with a slight incline. Sleep didn’t come well for I was wide awake. Eventually, I began packing up my things. At 6:30 A.M. I actually began to walk to await the dawn. I would walk for a few hours along the bottomlands parallel to the Sinnemahoning Creek.

The deer were moving and I saw several bucks and some does.

A frosty fog covered the mountain tops. the trees across the creek had that gray-white frost covering them.

The bottomlands had plenty of Sycamore trees to contrast the White Pines. Occasionally, the brilliant reds of Winterberries would be contrasting everything.

Midmorning found me close to the dam again. This was where I saw the eagle yesterday. I was bird-watching this time. I wasn’t disappointed. I saw a flock of Mergansers again busily diving into the cold waters searching for breakfast. Mallards were quacking and swimming on the opposite side. the drakes were brilliant with their green heads. A small flock of Canada geese landed and would, for some reason, fly downstream past me.

Two mature Bald Eagles flew to my side of the dam. They were always outside of good camera range. They landed for a time only to fly back across the dam. before I left I saw an immature Bald Eagle  fly over close enough for some shots. Other birdlife included: Belted Kingfisher; Bluebirds; Crows; Ravens and a Killdeer. I hated to leave, but I had a schedule to keep so I continued on towards Medix Run area to do an afternoon hike before heading home.

I saw more deer and elk as I moved along. I drove up along Dents Run since I hadn’t been there for sometime. Soon I would be hiking near Medix Run.

Raven