I had a wonderful, busy last week in the Midwest before departing for New York. I went to three baseball games with wonderful people, all of which the home team won (the Indy Indians won two, the Reds won one. Oh, and Doug – I swear all baseball games aren't militant.) It always feels like summer hasn't really started until I've been to a baseball game – three in one week means the season can really start.
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I also had the chance to finish up a freelance project shooting a bald eagle nest – it was really incredible how close I was able to get to such amazing birds. The chicks were a captive audience, but the mother was very wary of me, and any time I'd get close she'd fly off. Luckily I arrived one day while she was away, and when she returned she didn't spot me right away. I had about five minutes in which to capture some cool images, including this one. The full gallery can be found on my Flickr site here.
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After packing up, cleaning, finding a place to live next year and finishing up everything I had to do in Bloomington, I was ready to drive to New York. After spending 12.5 quality hours in my car on Sunday, I finally arrived at Lake Champion. It was great arriving and seeing a place that I really do love, and more importantly, seeing people that I really care about. I was also greeted by a midnight soccer game in the gym, which I somewhat regretted participating in after spending so much time in the car.
So now I've had a few days to get settled here. I've been thrust immediately into a really busy work situation, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love the people I'm working with and I love the cause I'm working for. I really could make a life out of this property staff thing.
The highlight of yesterday was seeing the rather large bat pictured below. It was the biggest bat I've ever seen not in a zoo, and after some Internet research, I'm pretty sure it was the Hoary Bat – which has an average wingspan of 15.7 inches (thanks, Wikipedia). I thought it was pretty cool to see.
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