A few minutes later, an eagle flying low from the north changed course to sail directly over my car as I was hauling toward the city. It is not every day a person is blessed by an eagle. The number of eagles has been rising in Kansas slowly over my lifetime. From never having seen a single eagle in the wild to seeing three within ten miles of my own home in the last twelve years is an auspicious sign. That little strand of happiness trailed after me the rest of the day.
A coworker who is a deer hunter in his real life explained it is likely the other fawn was chased away from his mother by a breeding buck, maybe still following his mother from a hundred yards back. Or he may have taken up with another young buck, and both are trailing a group of older bucks. I was thankful for this knowledge.
I am thankful for many things in my life - my family and friends, my home, humble as it is, and my time on this old earth.
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Here in the riparian border between desert and high mountains, we do see eagles with some regularity, as well as lots of ospreys. For me, the magical omen bird is a white pelican. They have appeared in the sky above me only a few times, always when I needed some spiritual comfort or reassurance. Once, at a point of great need, I 'happened' to be crossing the river downtown, walking across the pedestrian footbridge in the middle of the park, when, out of nowhere, sailed a small group of pelicans. They floated down from the sky, sailed just over the top of the bridge, and cascaded to a stop in the waters of Mirror Pond, just 20 feet away from me.
They were there, about 7 or 8 of them, for about three days, according to the newspaper. Young birds, probably exploring a bit beyond the usual flyway route, they amazed everyone with their gawky beauty and fascinating social fishing behavior.
When a big flock flies overhead, the birds seem to disappear and reappear as they wheel in gigantic sky circles. The white of their bodies vanishes against the blue sky, leaving only the black wing lines floating mysteriously, vanishing, reappearing.
They are awesome beings!
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