The song of the eagle is sweet...



...which has always baffled me. They are such huge, predatory birds - Wouldn't you expect them to have a cry that sent chills down the spines of anything within range? No. "Tweedle-dee-dee," they sing.

Today, when I was walking on the beach at Florencia Bay, I thought a lot about that, as we seemed to have arrived just in time for an eagles' concert.

The trip to Florencia Bay (in Pacific Rim National Park) was a last-minute idea based on a look at the weather forecast for today. Basically, it was going to be HOT in Nanaimo, so a trip to the west coast sounded like a fine plan (to one of us, anyway). It usually takes three hours to get to Florencia Bay from our house. Today it took closer to four, because the last 48 kilometers of the twisty-turny road were under construction. Three times, we had to wait around for a while and then follow a pilot car through a particularly dicey part of the project.

As we drove, we wondered why the road work was being done now, at the height of tourist season, instead of in, say, September - but when we saw how extensive the project was, we understood. It's a constant battle to keep this road in good repair. It seems that the work is no sooner done in one spot than another piece of the road starts sinking. This particular effort is very ambitious.

Eventually, we came to the end of the project and proceeded to the beach. I had been a little reluctant to make the journey, as I had one or two things to do (like write!) today, but once I stepped onto the beach, I knew I was in the right place. I walked and thought and listened to the surf and listened to the eagles and took pictures of the amazing patterns created by water and light and sand.


The ride home was a little quicker than the ride out, because it was late in the day and road work was winding down. I had a supermarket chicken Caesar salad for dinner. I bought it in Port Alberni, lest I eat the seat covers before we got back to Nanaimo.

Oh - I almost forgot. It's BetterU Tuesday. No joy in Mudville, I'm afraid. I gained half a pound at the beginning of the week, and I've still got it. My BP is fine - a little lower than last week, but I'm no lighter. Could I have found the dreaded plateau? I hope not, because I hate being hungry, and if I cut my intake any further, I'm going to be hungry all the time.