The Great Eagle Experiment

On Thursday I told you I have cabin fever; and I still probably do. I have seen no noticeable difference in my moods towards the weather. Or the weather’s mood towards me, either.
On Thursday I also told you that I have had no great adventures lately and that I feel guilty about it, which I still haven’t and I still do.
However, yesterday an adventure ALMOST happened to me.
Keyword here being “Almost.”
Notice it in quotation marks.

But first, let me tell you about what I did on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, I made chicken. Chickens, actually. Plural. I roasted a few birds, one to eat that night, another to chop up and put away for salads, casseroles and all other such various sundries.

And something to note for those of you readers who live in urban areas is that when most people in the country have food scraps we do NOT put them in the garbage. Garbage meaning the waste bin, where scrap paper, dryer lint, and old toothbrushes go. No. Food scraps, like the bottoms of celeries, apple cores, moldy cheese and…get this…chicken bones…they go outside. To some random field or little plot or ditch or wherever, put there to be turned into compost if you garden, to decompose, to feed wild animals, to feed barn cats, whatever. They go outside. But usually not for a few days (at least not in my house) because they go in a bucket under the sink and then when the bucket is full they go outside to my yard-kitty and whichever coyotes come around. Which is exactly where I found myself this afternoon: with a bucket full of chicken bones.

You really do need to know this, I promise.

That was Tuesday and a little rural-life lesson. Yesterday, though, is where the almost adventure kicks in.

I was sitting at my kitchen table making flowers (I don’t know why I make flowers in my kitchen rather than in my studio, I just do) when out of the corner of my eye I see through the window, a few fields over, three bald eagles just a-flappin’ their wings at each other.

How neat! I thought. We see eagles around here a decent amount, especially more during some times of the year than others, but whenever they are around I always get little giggles up and down my spine.

I know, I just said giggles. Not tingles. That’s what I meant.

Naturally then, when I saw the birds I ran as fast as I could to get my camera, spine giggling the whole way, but when I got back I didn’t see them anymore. They must have flown away.

A few minutes later, though, I saw one of them perched up in a tree a little further away than the field they had been in.
Three eagles on the ground flapping around is one thing, but one eagle perched in a tree is another. And it’s not nearly as spine-giggling.
Nevertheless, I continued to watch it for a while.
Until I had a VERY adventurous thought. “I wonder if I could lure them to my yard???”

Friends of mine will tell you this is not unlike other thoughts about eagles I have had before. One of my famous stories goes that one night I was watching a program on some kind of discovery channel (not necessarily THE Discovery Channel) about these eagles in Russia. It was midnight, I was exhausted, I was delusional. And almost like a vision I saw a scenario in my head of an eagle just waltzing right into my living room and I knew right then and there that IF that scenario one day did happen….and an eagle just walked right into my living room, that I would be caught unprepared. After all, do you know what YOU would do if an eagle walked into YOUR living room?

I thought not.

All that being said, now that I know what I would do if the bird sauntered into my house, I had a new challenge before me: How do I get him close to my house?

Then it dawned on me like the great light from the scene in Lord of the Rings Two Towers when Gandalf comes back with the Riders of Rohan:

                                Eagles eat dead things. I have a bucket of dead things under my sink.

And just like that! Flash in the pan! I was out of my seat and running to retrieve the food scraps bucket.

These chickens would help me lure them in.

Forgetting a coat, I rush outside having thrown the bones onto a baking dish and place the bucket far enough away from the house to not be suspicious, but close enough that I could throw rocks at them.

Why would I throw rocks at them, you ask? Well, the thought did occur to me that I have a small cat outside…and what if they tried to fly away with said cat? Then I would need to throw rocks at them.

Fair enough.

Here is a picture of the little yard-kitty, named Katya, and enjoying first dibs on the chicken bones. She is dainty, so I knew she wouldn’t be eating all of them, which is good.

 

She had her petite feast and I watched out the window.

 

I figured luring them would take some time.
And I could see the bird still down the way in my tree.

 

And then there was another one a while later on the ground. So I went back to making flowers.

I started watching them again and was able to catch this shot. Aren’t there wings huge?

 

At this point I was still unaware of where the others were, but these kinds of animals travel in groups, so I knew they wouldn’t be that far away.

And then, kids….Wolfies….dearest readers of mine….about 45 minutes after the initial placing of the carcasses in my yard I stopped my flower making, went and looked out the window….and GUESS WHAT I SAW????

 

 

THAT’S RIGHT! THE EAGLES WERE CIRCLING MY HOUSE!!!!

I started jumping up and down. I started running back and forth around my house! I started squealing. My spine was giggling more than it ever has in my life and for the first time, I’m not kidding you, I think I may have had a slight case of hyperventilation.

Success!!! The birds were circling! They had smelled the chicken! They would be on their way down in no time! And the yard-kitty was in the shed, so there was no fear of her flown off!!!!

But.

 

But then, the most appalling thing happened (I told you it was an ALMOST adventure, remember?).

As I am watching out my window, hyperventilating, camera at the ready, what else do I see out my window? Coming my way?

 A car.

Wait a second! A car??? This was not a part of the plan! I know what to do when an eagle walks into my living room, I clearly now know how to lure eagles to my yard, but a car? A CAR?? And….is this car turning into my driveway?!?!

No, no NO, no no NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!! Not MY driveway! YOU WILL HAVE TO DRIVE RIGHT BY THE CHICKEN BONES!!! You will throw off the scent!

Have you no care that I am LURING eagles to my yard?! Do you have no reverence that I have a severe case of cabin fever----and need an adventure????!!!!!

 

 

*Sigh*

 

We had a lovely visit.

 

But after the little drive-by, I don’t think the eagles were much up for visiting anymore.

My dad didn’t think the eagles would have come for the chicken. And while….I suppose….I can’t be sure they were either, what I do know is that before there were chicken bones in my yard, the eagles were not circling. But after there were chicken bones in my yard? The eagles were circling.

So, there you have it.

Today was the day I almost lured eagles into my yard.

And then I found this sweet picture on Pinterest.

I was looking up “Roses,” I promise.