Distant Encounters of the First Kind

We saw our neighbors walking along our road Saturday afternoon. It was a balmy sunny day, and their three old grand-daughter was running around with an exuberance only a three-old knows. We walked out to say hello and meet their son and daughter-in-law and their beautiful Sophie. It was the kind of day meant for chatting in the afternoon sun. Our neighbors are bird watchers. So, I was intrigued when Jackie started out saying, "We saw those birds, oh what are they? They fly in large flocks and make this incredible sound." I had no idea what she was talking about. She said, "Sam, what are those birds we saw? They winter in the wetlands in the valley, and migrate right over us on their way north. What are they?" Sam says, "Oh I remember, they're Sandhill Cranes."

I shouted, "What? Sandhill Cranes fly over our house on their way to somewhere every spring and fall?" I couldn't believe it.

Jackie says she just saw a flock fly over earlier in the week, and if there are no more this time, we should be ready for them in fall. She said she'll even call us if and when she sees them.

I am thrilled by all of this.
Later that same day, I grabbed the telephone to call my mom and headed out on the deck to sit while we talked. The phone rang once at her house, and I looked up into the sky. There was a large of flock of very big birds flying towards us. My first thought was, "Wow, those are huge geese." But then I heard their sound, the sound only a Sandhill Crane makes. I hung up the phone before my mom answered, and ran to get Roger. We stood out on the deck and had our first very distant encounter with Sandhill Cranes. The phone rang. I thought it must be my mom, calling to ask why I had hung up, but it was our very good and kind neighbor calling to say, "Go out and look at the sky. There are cranes flying over your house." I told her that we were looking at them and I was trying to get a photo. The above pic is the best I could do. They were high in the sky and moving. It was quite exciting.

How lucky we are again to have such good neighbors. If we hadn't had that conversation earlier in the day, I would have never guessed such a thing were possible. We're on the flight path of migrating Sandhill Cranes.
But then something else happened. On Sunday I remembered that I had photographed a large flock of what I thought were geese heading south last October. I thought they were pretty lousy photographs, but I saved them anyway. I just took a good look at them and discovered I had already photographed the migrating Sandhill Cranes then.

Life is good.