Joe can't deal with my begging and pleading (I'm such a spoiled brat); so, he con-
sented to swinging by Rondout again, for another peek at the skybirds. On the way over, as the wheels of the car were spinning 'round and 'round, so were the wheels of my mind. I was mentally beginning to sort photos and write a mini novella. Upon our return, Charlie and his big lens were still stationed opposite the nest; did I mention that I'm suffering from lens envy?
He excitedly told us that in our absence, Papa had gone hunting twice. He first returned with a large fish; then with a muskrat. Soooo, it was no surprise that vultures were rampant in the sky and encircling the nest. We guessed their goal to be theft of food. The babies seemed too large to have been threatened. The scene upon our arrival was otherwise similar to the earlier one, with Papa perched on a high branch, overseeing the kids... until, that is, Joe exclaimed, "He's flying; he's flying!" Yes indeed; Papa was in flight... and what a photo-worthy show he gave us. Snap, snap, snap. He soared over our heads, circled around the nest several times, and then went high into the sky. Snap, snap, snap. Finally, he descended, dropping his legs and huge claws and curling in his big, beautiful wings; he came in for a landing, smack dab in the nesting tree. Snap. Charlie assured us that we had just witnessed one of the best air shows of the season. Satiated, we finally headed for home - two hundred pictures on my media card and an exhausted Mambo, sleeping in the back of the SUV. Hey, all that bird-watching is work for a laid back pooch!
We rode in awestruck silence for a while, before Joe turned on Sirius radio. First up? So very appropriately, it was John Lennon's "Watching The Wheels". I had not heard this fave in many years. I knew a blog title had been gifted me. Of course, the obvious would have been "Be" or "Skybird" from Neil's JLS. However, the soundtrack of our lives is comprised of so many beautiful moments in time that seem to be goin' round and round in synch with an equal number of gorgeous lyrics. Please have a listen to Wheels, embedded below.
