Eagle Eyed

Sometimes the fishing is much better than the catching. It's been a slow summer in the catching department, but the fishing has been wonderful. I've been all over the Cascades in the last two weeks. A real reminder of why I live in Oregon. Last Tuesday I wandered up a narrow rough road for a few miles and landed at Three Creeks Lake. It's a rare eco-system that surrounds this little jewel; an alpine environment with patches of snow still on the ground in August! Sometimes I wonder how much longer places like this will continue to exist. Given how many ranches and large tracts of land are being sub-divided, how many little tracts of homes are springing up, jet skis in the driveway, BBQ grill and mountain view in the backyard, and how much the area is changing I sense the need to savor each day and be thankful what it brings. While float-tubing and probing the depths with nymphs and streamers, my eyes caught a flash of white in the vivid blue above. An eagle came buy not so much to mock my efforts but to remind me that I was in "his house." He circled a few times and then landed in a tall pine and settled in right on the top of that tree. He watched a good while before moving on unnoticed. I'm going back someday and I'll bring a friend and a housewarming present too.