Deck Musings #1
I was sitting on my patio early Saturday Morning, watching a hawk hunt over the fields behind my place. It was a peaceful, tranquil setting (unless you happened to be a field mouse, rat, or rabbit, I guess) and I found myself fascinated by the loops and dives the hawk was making as he zeroed in on various rodentia. I was too far away (or my eyes have gone to far to the over 40 side of life) to see when he made a catch so the only way I could tell was if he immediately started another search of the ground or left and returned (or was replaced by another hunter).
I watched the hunting for quite some time, though, with great satisfaction. My appetite for the outdoors was wetted, and the summer season is coming upon us, so fishing and camping are heavily upon my mind. It will be different with all the changes that I have gone through, since it wont be the large family camping and fishing trips anymore, but will be solo trips, or trips with just one or two of my kids at a time, but any trip to a lake, stream, or the woods is worth taking, even if it is taken alone.
Thinking about this brought to mind how lucky I was to have parents who instilled this love in me, and how hard I have tried to instill it in my kids. (Successfully it seems, as they demand that we go anytime we can) They are, of course, no longer children, ranging in age from 17 to 27, but they still love to go, and last summer we just didnt get to go enough. This summer, having moved to Houston, while they are still centered around Dallas, it will, as I stated, be difficult to get together, but I plan on making every effort to make several trips and take whichever of them can accompany me along.
Anyway, I ramble. I was watching Mr. Hawk(s) go about his/their business of obtaining breakfast, thinking about how some of you might be taking those wonderful pictures of him if you were here, and wrestling with myself about whether I should try to capture it on film when I realized that the last pass had been made, and the flying exhibition to which I had been treated was over. I guess that enough breakfast had been gathered to meet demand, and the lunch plans were now underway over in Hawkville.
Anyway, I thanked the maker for the wonderful display of aerobatics and precision flying, said a prayer of thanks on behalf of the hawk for the game he had taken, and went back inside for another cup of coffee, thinking about the old saying The early bird gets the worm.
Yep, I guess he does.
But the late sleeping mouse had a better morning this past Saturday.
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Excellent writing!! Great story, it took me back to some days that I had all but forgotten. Thank you for reminding me of those days they are well worth the time to go over again even if only in memory.
Really nice piece and one that I can relate too. I also sit on my porch and watch white tailed hawks circle around looking for their meals. They amaze me that they can see anything so small, while being so high up.
As for changes in life, Matt and I will be going through another big one in a few months. We took a long time to decide when we wanted to start a family, and when we finally decided, much to our surprise, we had an instant one. We had identical twin girls. I have often said that having twins is like having to only children with twice the work. This fall, they will be going off to college, and suddenly we will be empty nesters. Seems that life for us has always been these large transitions. I'm left with mixed emotions, as I pretend to be as excited as they are.
I think that life is so much simpler for the hawks. Once they push their fledglings out of the nest, all they worry about is the next meal.
Congrats on your girls, but them leaving for college is not an end, just another beginning. You'll be surprised how much you still see / hear / and spend time with them.
Myoldest (27), went to college, and did 2 years before deciding to quit school and get married (!!!!). During the 2 years, we saw her 2 weekends a month. Granted she was only a 4 hour drive away, but she came home a lot.
She was married for almost 6 years, and had 2 children during this time. Despite still living only 4 or 5 hours away, we saw them on holidays ora few times when we went there. She's now divorced, a single parent, and back in school, and she's home (wife's home now, though she is coming to my place next weekend) once a month or so.
My son is in 2nd year of college, almost 21 years old, and 3 hours in the opposite direction, and makes it back to the old homestead once or twice a month also.
I wouldn't claim that empty nester title just yet, if I was you.
Humm... I think that your's had the desire to come home... I'm not so sure about mine. First, they will have each other, since they are going to the same school. And although they will only be 3 1/2 hours from home, due south, when they were there last summer for 5 weeks, we didn't see them once. We should make a bet on this!
But I am glad that there is some hope that will stay in touch.
This is how I get my meals in the wild. Of course, at 9,500 ft you have to move slower.
My daughter lives in Pearland, she is the choir director for the Alvin ISD. She and her family go camping somewhere up towards San Antonio. The picture is from Duran Canyon, NM. Somewhere I have a picture of a Red Tailed Hawk riding the thermals, but I haven't found it yet.
Really nice story.
That is clever. Not so much fun for theprairiedogs, though.
Cool shot, Steve!
Ahhh....
Someone else who knows how to live.
Wish I was right there, on that spot, right now.