Focus vs Situational Awareness

After most of a lifetime on a farm around potentially dangerous animals, definitely dangerous machinery, and possibly dangerous unexpected situations, I'm reasonably aware of what's going on around me....

Except when I'm on birds.

It's gonna get me killed some day.

The other night I was out on the gravel bar on the Schoharie after they let the river down for the rain event. Sandpipers, Yellowlegs, Killdeers and the like were gobbling something out of the mud and I was taking photos as fast as I could click.

A person walked up just out of my peripheral view and stood quietly waiting for me to finish....which took a while.....

Don't know how long she politely waited while I went crazy taking pictures, but I never saw or heard her at all...until I stopped to go back to the car.

Thankfully it turned out to be a nice lady who is a longtime friend of ours.....

Had it been a serial killer at least I would have died happy.

Some of us are nuts...