Eagle VS Goose

 Hey everyone! It's Camille, from The Whimsy Dome! We live in a dome home in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan so there is a lot of wildlife around us. WAY more than I thought there would be! We even have a bald eagle's nest on the tree that sits across on the island that is in front of our house on the river. We've had the coolest sightings & experiences already! I wanted to share them with you!

One day when working in the Shine room downstairs I was facing away from the double glass doors and thought, hmm why am I facing the wall when I could face out the windows, just as I turn to look out the window I lock eyes on a bald eagle flying between the hemlock trees and landing on a tree within 100 yards of the house. What a perfect moment to turn around and witness time move in slow motion as the wingspan on the eagle carved between the hemlock trees. They move with such elegance and grace that time nearly slows down. Every time I see an Eagle on this property or get to experience any nature miracle, it feels like a gift from above! I just cherish these moments when I get to witness the beauty of nature up close and personal. And. so. often! 

I was sitting on the bench that Sean and his dad made that sits on the edge of our riverbank and I hear the sharp cackle of a bald eagle and I gaze up to see flying across the river, a bald eagle with a black squirrel in its talons and its bushy tail swaying in the wind and they swoosh over the river and back into the nest at the tippy top of the tallest pine tree on the island. 

Another day in this same very spot, but coming from the opposite direction Sean spotted the Eagle yet again, which always feels like a gift in and of itself, and low and behold he has a garter snake in its talons! Back home to the nest with dinner in tow! 

This most recent citing really takes the cake on extraordinary Eagle experiences! During the middle of the afternoon one day, I was on a garden walk with Ozzy when he noticed some geese down by the riverbank. He raced over the hill towards them (but the garden only gets you halfway to the river bank) so Ozzy stopped short and just watched alongside me at what was about to happen. 

    There were two geese sitting in the water by the tree that is on the edge of our property, Ozzy ran and spooked them and they both took off at an angle up and away from the river bank (and towards the eagle's nest) they get about 10 feet off the water and an eagle screeches and swoops down for the one goose. it DROPS to the water and swims in a half-circle, it must have gotten one of its wings. The eagle flew off and out of sight, unclear if it returned to the nest or back into the woods. The unharmed goose then came back and they both sat on the far side of the riverbank, by the island,  and over the next 20 minutes, one began to slowly sink. Its chest was no longer held high, it looked defeated and I came back sometime later and was further lower into the water and not looking good. The next time I came back the goose was dead but staying off on the riverbank across the way. The next morning to my disbelief the goose was farther upstream. No, not the way that water flows down the river, I'm talking UP  stream. At first, I was like, No, you just remembered wrong, it must have happened further upstream than you remembered. But I was like then I wouldn't have been able to see it happen if the attack was farther upstream so it had to have been moved farther upstream. I thought maybe the other goose tugged it ahead, but after the second time checking it that day it had moved at least the same distance if not more, I KNEW it was the Eagle that must have been moving it back towards the nest. How. freaking. cool.!

Living here for almost 11 months has shown me SO MUCH nature already and has given me so many amazing scrumptious opportunities to enjoy all that nature has to offer. Wood ticks, deer ticks, Lymes disease, and all. Turns out you can't get the good without the bad. Learn to admire it all and love this human life.