…Or more precisely, Full Moon Walk. As I mentioned Saturday, I had a couple of short walks planned for yesterday. The first was with a raptor on my arm, so I didn’t get any photos taken then (I should learn the art of one-handed photography!). The Red-tailed Hawk and I wandered down to the lake and watched the Trumpeter Swans and sunning Painted Turtles before heading back. It was really an uneventful walk, but the weather was beautiful and I like to get the birds out for a saunter when I can.
Later that day, shortly before sunset, I met with the group scheduled to take a short hike under the light of the full moon in Carver Park. The sky was clear, except for a few clouds here and there, so we knew we’d have plenty of light once the moon 
was up. However, we did meet a little early and headed out just as the sun was setting. This gave us plenty of time to walk in well-lit conditions before the darkness set in.
We walked to the lake first, to take in the stunning sunset, pictured here. From there we wandered past a couple of marshy areas to do a little testing of our frog and toad call identification skills. The Chorus Frogs were in fine tune!
From there we headed to one of the more heavily wooded trails in Carver Park, Oak Trail. On our way we passed the Sledding Hill, over which the moon was just beginning to rise (pictured here). Behind us, Venus was preparing to set behind the western shore of the lake.
Once we reached the forest, we spread out and spent a little time just listening. We heard a number of frog species and a couple of Canada Geese, and saw several Sandhill Cranes fly by overhead. But we were all elated when we spotted two Bald Eagles skimming the treetops directly above us. One of them landed in a tree just to the east, then called – the other soared to the south of us. It was still light enough for us to see them above the trees, and we were able to track them until they disappeared beyond the woods.
I had taken the resident Barred Owl out with us, since night is her favorite time of day. It’s always fascinating to watch her become more and more alert and interested as the daylight fades to night. She saw the eagles too, but in true owl fashion, stayed calm and motionless, just watching the two larger birds fly off. Once we were back at the nature center, another Barred Owl started to call from the woodland we had just been walking in…and that got all our attention, especially our owl!
Before leaving the park, I stopped by the Dragonfly Pond to catch a quick photo of the moonlight 
reflecting on water, to round out my moon walk photos. There was a light breeze, but it was still fairly warm. I could have stayed out there for hours!
When I was young and living in northwestern Wyoming, we used to ski from the top of Teton Pass to the road at the bottom, all by the light of a full moon. I remember those nights of shifting shadows and blue-white luminosity, snow sparkling in moonlight, the wind through my hair, and the crisp freshness of the mountain air. Night is a wonderful time to get out in nature no matter what time of the year, as long as you know the area you are in and are safe (let someone know where you will be, or have others with you)…I highly recommend it!