Right in My Own Backyard

I usually write something about my business or jewelry making for my blog, but I had such a wonderful experience yesterday and I really would like to share some pictures.

My husband and I went kayaking on the Union River which runs practically right behind our house.  We have been wanting to do this for a few weeks, but the tide schedule and our personal schedules have not cooperated until yesterday.  We put in a the Ellsworth "harbor".  I put that in parenthesis because it's not so much a harbor as a dock and a little boat ramp.   Ellsworth's not a very big town but the landing is on a fairly well traveled road and there was lots of traffic.  But once we put our kayaks in and got out into the river, it was so much different. 

We see lots of different birds in that area, including hawks and bald eagles, many times while sitting on the bridge waiting in traffic.   I saw a huge bird land in a tree, but it didn't have a white head, so I paddled over to get a closer look.  I took a bunch of pictures and after enlarging them on my computer, I confirmed what I had hoped on the river:  It was a juvenile bald eagle.  It was pretty ragged looking, so it might have been molting.  He wasn't too happy with us watching him and eventually flew away.

We also saw so many seals, I lost count.  I have a lot of pictures of water where the seals were before the went back under the water, but I did get a couple of them watching us.  They are quiet and you never know where they are going to pop up. 

 

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the three seals swimming quickly upstream, jumping in and out of the water, like dolphins do (I'm sure there is a word for that, but I don't know what it is).  They were so close that I actually got splashed.

Further downstream there were no more seals, but it was so quiet and peaceful, you wouldn't know that you were right in the middle of a town, except for seeing the occasional house and the one person mowing their lawn.  I didn't get to see any otters, as I hoped I might, but we did see a peregrine falcon high up in a tree.

There were also two loons chasing each other in what Steve thought was probably some sort of mating ritual.  They were too fast for me to get a picture.

I was blessed and honored to see these beautiful animals, especially so close to humans.  It's amazing what you can see right in your own back yard.