Getting To The Point, Part 2

My main reason for going to the Point today was for fresh air and exercise on a glorious sunny day. I also had a spiritual reason for going to the park which, God willing, I will share about in the future. For now, suffice it to say that this park's popularity is well deserved. Without leaving the city I can walk in deep and ancient woods. Our park system has preserved some aged giants at the Point, including a Douglas Fir that is nearly 24 feet in circumference, and whose lowest branches are what we call "widow makers"; should they break off and fall, they are massive enough to flatten a car. Here's a photo of that tree taken on an earlier day by my friend, James Gunn:

There's nothing like a walk on a well-maintained forest path, under a canopy of cedar and fir, breathing in that oxygen-rich air and hearing nothing but birdsong.

Speaking of birds, one does see the occasional bald eagle in Tacoma's forested neighborhoods. High flyers that they are, they are unmistakable when the sun hits their white head feathers. And of course there is no "nature thrill" like watching an eagle fish! The optics and physics involved, along with the sheer computing power of an eagle's brain involved in plummeting from the sky and lifting a trout or salmon out of the water is enough to make me believe in a Designer. If you ever have the opportunity to watch slow motion film of an eagle fishing, don't miss it. Eagles will even fish in pairs: the first will dive at a water bird forcing it to dive under for cover; the second eagle will time its dive to grab the prey just as it surfaces thinking the danger has passed!

I didn't see an eagle today, but I found an old dead snag, the very kind of forest perch the great birds favor:

Please notice the highly unusual Tacoma phenomenon in this photo above: a cloudless sky!

Nope, no eagles today. I had to settle for a nice shot of a faithful pair of Canadian Geese. They are beautiful birds, even if they do naughty things to our park lawns.