A Nice Walk

It was one of THOSE special days. Not a great picture taking day, but still special.

I was walking on a trail of SAND (actually it was gravel), and trekking up a HILL (actually it was flat), when I saw the 2 big birds. I CRANEd my neck to see them, and took a couple of shots...just in case they scrambled off.

They didn't. I stood there on the path with them for 20-25 minutes, anywhere from 3-6 feet away. What a feeling.

They finally decided to leave, and I walked on. In five minutes, another photographer and I were shooting a doe with her fawn. Not great for taking pictures, but still fun to watch.

I was almost through with my loop when I came upon another young crane. It was picking at the ground right next to a bench. After a few minutes, the young bird actually let me sit down on the bench. I didn't try, but I could have reached out and petted it. It was maybe 2 feet away.

It all went well until another walker came by. I was still sitting, while he was standing. I bet he talked for 30 minutes. He was 72 years old, he drove a truck,  he had an old Nikon film camera with many lenses, he couldn't get his wife to come walk with him, he loved the national parks, etc., etc, etc. COULDN"T HE SEE THAT I WAS HAVING A "MOMENT" WITH MY BIRD?

Actually, his talking didn't bother me as much as his attire. Remember that he was standing, and I was sitting. He had a pair of Levi shorts on that were SOOO short (and tight), that Daisy Duke would have been proud. And, (could this get any worse?) he didn't have them cut off...noooo...he had them double-rolled right up to his crotch. Oh my. That's an image that I'm going to have a rough time getting out of my head.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124969130@N06/sets/72157656240259585 I put a few more pictures on my Flickr page. More crane shots, the deer, and a nesting swan.