Merlin Sighting

One of the perks...No let me rephrase that, the ONLY perk about having to drive one hour into the wilderness every morning for work, is that you get to see the wildlife. So fare I have see an owl, a wolf, a few Foxes, a mama and baby moose, a few coyotes, hawks and the occasional eagle from afar.

There are also the "extreme" critters, those are the one that will double dare each other to run in front of your vehicle to impress their "bros" so fare their has been one ermines, one jack rabbit and two deer ( not so bad considering deer are EVERYWHERE here) but never close enough to have a good look.

Yesterday was different. The sun was shining for the first time in a week, I was alone in the truck because the 2 other car poolers were already off for the weekend and the radio was playing really good tunes. I was enjoying my ride home when all of a sudden a bird came swooping down low from the left and I let go of the gas ready to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting it, totally ignoring the fact that their were 3 cars behind me on the highway. I did not have to brake though. My buddy the Merlin, known in scholarly circles as Falco Columbarius just wanted to surf the wind trail from my truck. he made a 90 degree turn and rode the wind next to my truck window giving me a spectacular view of his belly and wings.

He stayed with me for maybe a quarter of a mile and then he was gone. Coolest thing I ever saw, I felt totally blessed :O)