Yeah, I don't know the rules

Since moving to Malta, I have been intrigued with the wildlife around the area.

I am relieved to say that I have not encountered any predators like wolves or bears yet living in the bustling metropolis that is Malta, but I have seen a few things that I haven’t encountered in the Chicago land Suburb I call my hometown.

The first animal I saw here was the controversial Buffalo. Somewhere around Fort Peck, my then fiancée Susan and I were on a double date with her parents and we pulled up to an area where there were several fenced in.

While I wouldn’t want to meet one of those on the road, I could appreciate seeing such a magnificent beast.

I haven’t had the misfortune of seeing a Western Rattlesnake yet, but I have seen a dead Bull snake or two and a moose.

I have seen foxes and coyotes, which I’ve learned can wreak havoc of their own but the coolest creature I have seen, has to be our nation’s bird, the bald eagle.

While driving to Glasgow to pick up the PCN, Mark and I encountered an eagle and took a few pictures but found out that eagles don’t let you get too close before they fly off.

They seem to appear around February and March alongside the road, close enough to where I can get a picture of them.

My problem has been that I always been on the road without my trusty camera or I would just so happen to miss the eagles.

I have been in a position to take photos and video with my cell phone but the eagles were so far away that you could only see tiny silhouettes that don’t resemble our national bird.

The other day, when it was cloudy and cool, I somehow had a feeling the eagles would be out and boy was I right.

Around the bridge area near Dodson, I finally happened to catch one. I could’ve hit it with a football it was so close. I pulled beside it and shot a few pictures.

It seemed as though the right thing to do was to turn on my hazard flashers as I struggled to get my lens to focus on the raptor.

As it turns out, using my hazard flashers triggered a concerned citizen, Michael Ereaux. Praying that I wouldn’t see any accident, I was able to get one decent shot of the eagle before it flew off.

Thank God that no one got hurt but I think I will be a little more careful next time. I just hope it doesn’t take another two years to be within a stone’s throw of one.