A Reminder of Why it's Good to Tread Lightly Upon the Earth

Everyone who is trying to better their behavior in some way needs some reminders, from time to time, as to why in the hell they are torturing themselves in this godforsaken way. In my case, the long and never-ending battle between me and my money received a nice shot in the arm when I learned that my credit score is 714. I was happy I'd spent all that time running when I learned that my blood pressure is now 110/70. Things like that.

Another one of these things happened to me today as I was walking back from the local Starbucks with my reusable mug filled with coffee. When I had first walked out the door, I realized I had forgotten it, and then I made myself go back and get it. And I walked to Starbucks with the pooch and what have you. And then as I was circling around the block, avoiding the construction so I could have more of a Zen moment as I walked, I realized that something else was circling above me. Hmmm, my thoughts ran. That noisy flock of birds is sure upset about something HOLY CRAP THERE IS A BALD EAGLE ABOVE MY APARTMENT.

And indeed there was. He (or possibly she) was rising higher and higher on the thermals as I caught sight of her, and I just caught glimpses of the white tail and head before she got WAY too far up for me to see much of anything. Once she did that, of course, the smaller birds dive-bombing her dropped away and she was left to soar in peace. I gaped after her, awestruck. Birds of prey are relatively common in this area--it's not unusual to see a hawk or two, and I hear we have peregrine falcons as well. And there's quite a few large birds on our bodies of water--my favorite is the great blue heron, which is so huge that if one sits on a bank with its head under its wing, you mistake them for a very large boulder until they move.

Still, a bald eagle! Awesome!