Lives With Eagles

Twenty three years ago Hubby and I were out driving around looking at houses. We had just sold our house in town and were looking for my farm. Driving down a road we hadn't been on before, nature called. Hubby that is. And when nature calls he has to listen. We saw a For Sale sign on a vacant house and stopped. He ran into the woods to call nature back and was surprised to see this humble little house was on the water. Returning to the car he told me to get out and take a look. As I came around to the front of the house I saw a lovely little bay that I never knew existed. On Golden Pond. I said to Hubby, "We can't afford it. It's on the water." Hubby said "Let's make an offer." We made a ridiculously low offer and they accepted. They even had an offer much higher from a builder but they sold it to us. It was an estate sale and they wanted our small son to grow up here.

The house was born a cabin. A cabin for the Strom family. It has knotty pine walls and cabinets. At one time it was a fun retreat (the evidence was all the beer bottles I dug out of the yard) but in the later years it was a neglected rental. We saw past the dirt and grime and just kept our eyes on the beautiful scene outside the window. It wasn't my farm but hard to pass up. The farm could wait.

The first morning we woke up in our new cabin the sun was shining. I got up before Hubby, put my 8 month old son in this backpack and went down on the beach. Walking up the creek I could not believe my eyes when a huge bald eagle soared over my head. I had no idea that eagles call this their home too. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

My mother, on the other hand, thought we were crazy to take our baby and go live in the woods. But this was just like camping only better. We had all the comforts of home. The huckleberries were ripe so I made huckleberry pancakes that first morning. It had the smell and feel of a vacation. Remember going to a relatives cabin for the weekend in the summer? The smell of the campfire and the beach. We had it every day. We were in heaven. Sadly, the area has grown and gotten busier. Most of the weekend cabins have been replaced with full time residences but our little bay has gone relatively unchanged. A few new houses across the bay but other than that for the last 20 years we have enjoyed our privacy.

One of the unexpected surprises of the place were the abundance of eagles. They are everywhere. My mother-in-law, the keeper of old wives tales, used to warn of them carrying off the baby if I didn't watch out. I was more worried of them carrying off the dog.

This year the eagles have been thick. We have quite a few large fir trees in the yard and they sit up there and look for salmon. They are on the beach pulling fish out of the water right and left. The eagles around here are as common as robins. At any given time there could be fifty or so cruising around. The other day one flew through my back patio area. It was a young bird and a bit confused. The sound of those six foot wings up close is something to behold. Got the dogs' attention.

Every day I am so thankful that nature called.....and Hubby listened.