The Eagle Has Landed

While waiting for the tall ships to arrive yesterday afternoon, my son and his friends came riding up on their bikes, telling me a hawk was sitting on the trail, and do I want to get a picture.  Hmmmmm.  A hawk, just sitting on the ground.  I thought about it, and the fact that there is an eagle next nearby with 2 young eagles, and decided this warrants investigation.  So we walked down the trail and sure enough, the “hawk” was one of the young fledgling eagles.  It was sitting on the back of a bench at the edge of the trial. I call it a fledgling, but don’t let that fool you.  It was nearly the size of an adult, with fully functioning bill and talons.

 

I am sure this bird will have no trouble defending itself.  Just check out these talons.

Even this young, this has to be one of the most wonderful and majestic sights you can see.

As great as it was to see this, after a few moments I told the kids to move away, and not to get close.  I am sure that Mom and Dad Eagle were nearby, watching.  And I am sure they were not happy about our presence.  Besides, what this young bird needs is to be left alone, so it can grow up and soar in our skies.

Tall Ship Celebration – Bay City, Michigan

Today was the first day of the 2010 Tall Ship Celebration in Bay City, Michigan.  Almost a dozen tall sailing ships from around the world came to Bay City today, for a three day festival (for more information on this festival, go to http://tallshipcelebration.com/ ).  We spent over three hours this afternoon, with a large crowd of people, watching the ships come up the Saginaw River into Bay City.  I would like to share few highlights with you here today.

An eager crowd is gathering on a very hot, muggy day.  You can see just how hazy it was in some of the pictures.

About an hour before the ships arrived, we were treated to a brief but heavy downpour, with thunder rumbling all around.  The eager crowd stuck it out, but became a bit more condensed during the rain.

The Roald Amundsen, brig from Eckernförde, Germany.

The HMS Bounty sailing up the river.

The HMS Bounty was commissioned by MGM Studios for the movie Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Marlon Brando.  This ship has appeared in many additional movies as well.

The Europa, a Barque from The Hague, Netherlands.

  

Hey, shouldn’t they be going upstream?  The Roseway, a schooner from the US Virgin Islands, takes a load of passengers out for a cruise.

The Denis Sullivan, a three-masted schooner out of Milwaukee, WI.

Arrrrrrg, there be pirates among us! 

My personal favorite, the Pride of Baltimore II, out of, you guessed it, Baltimore, MD.  This ship has been to town several times, and I was able to get on board for a tour its last trip to Bay City.

There were more ships, and a special surprise, this afternoon.  Those pictures will be posted tomorrow, but I think this is enough for today.  Thanks for visiting!

Camping – again

Here are a few snapshots from our weekend camping trip.  Nothing special, just some random pictures I took.  We camped at the Outdoor Adventure’s Saginaw Bay Resort.  A very nice campground.

Our site was along the edge of the campground.  Shelby wondered what was making that noise in the trees.  I did not have the heart to tell her it was me.

 

The best part of camping – Breakfast!

Here is the obligatory campfire shot

This resort has a nice swimming and fishing pond, complete with fountain.

I took a walk along a trail that circles the campground.  I got a nice shot of a mushroom…

And this remnant of a tree stump, sitting in a spotlight of sunshine filtering through the trees.

On Saturday evening, a number of thunderstorms rumbled all around us.  Fortunately, they all missed us. 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope to get out on a real photo safari soon.  When I do, you know i will share them with you!