As I stood shivering on my deck , my desire to fight the elements in the darkness before dawn was rapidly waning .”

Photo : Bella , the author ’ s dog , can barely be seen through the snow as she tries to convince him to go with her to find birds . This photo was taken in October when the magnificent colors of autumn should have been displayed . Now it ’ s December , when winter really gets going .

The Hunter ’ s Moon , closely flanked by Jupiter , first drifted across the sky on October 28 this year . I watched the galactic display as I stood on the deck of my cabin listening to myriads of geese , swans , sandhill cranes and ducks chattering away on a large wetland a few hundred feet from me .

I was standing because my deck chairs were covered with ice and snow , and waterfowl were no doubt cackling about the lack of open water . Almost every inch of my wetland had added a skim of ice the night before . Cold weather the following day , pushed in by north winds , added depth to the ice . I don ’ t know how strong or deep the ice was because I had no desire to test it . Every once in a while it ’ s nice to come home from a hunting trip without one or both boots full of water . Or for that matter , to not come home with one

boot while the other is left behind , hopelessly trapped in muck below the ice .

The ice was definitely strong enough to hold large numbers of waterfowl and a lone bald eagle who stood nearby and only occasionally took wing to circle above the ducks and geese . The eagle acted much like a person at a 3-star restaurant perusing the menu and taking their sweet time about it . I first suspected the eagle was a male , as females of most species would have better sense than to stand on thin ice in freezing cold winds when food is easier to find elsewhere . However , males don ’ t need hours to check the menu , which then made me think the eagle was female . After all , how much difference is there between raw ducks , geese and swans , other than serving size ? Or if the eagle chose to dine on ducks , between a

raw mallard and a raw pintail ?

I ’ d say my slough is probably a 3-star eagle restaurant because it ’ s not deep enough to offer fish as an entrée . If carp or even large white suckers were available it might be rated by eagles as a 4-star establishment . Better seating and therefore easier dining are coming soon , perhaps within this decade . Cottonwoods growing wild around the wetland and on the islands are nearly high enough to offer perching and hunting sites . I ’ m hoping for 5-star ratings , but without fish on the menu , I ’ ll settle with a four . It probably doesn ’ t really matter , as eagles are not known for posting reviews on websites . I think the information is simply shared by word of mouth , or in this case , by squawk of beak .

My frozen wetland is more like an eagle ’ s buffet than a restau-