The ice that formed everywhere after last week’s thaw reduces me to baby steps on trails and streets.  When this morning broke clear and sunny we had no choice for our walk but the Sheep Creek delta. It’s low tide so we have miles of frosted mud and sand to explore.  The first winter light hits high on the beach and on the channel marker a kilometer away. We stretch out toward it without concern of slipping on ice or glaciated snow.

Aki has a hunter’s eye for moving prey but can’t see the eagle resting on the channel marker.  It watches without movement as if to measure its chance of carrying my 9 pound dog off for a meal. This would not be the first eagle to dive on Aki. A grown bald eagle, like the one, can carry away eight pounds of fish or rabbit. Nine pounds of a poodle mix in an aqua coat must be too much for this eagle who turns away to scan Gastineau channel for an easier meal.