The Calm...

When I became interested in wildlife photography, one of the things I had to reconcile for myself was that it is not my place to interfere with the circle of life.  And yes, it is hard when I see a hawk take down a bird in my yard.  But I know that if the hawk doesn't eat, he/she will die.  So when I am privileged to see life play out in front of me, I usually stay still and quiet and let things happen.  In the case of hawks, there is never time to interfere even if I wanted to - they are cunning and fast hunters.  I was in my hide when a sharp-shinned hawk strafed the cherry tree, grabbing one of 5 male cardinals who've been hanging around.  The cardinal didn't have a chance and barely had time to sound a cry.  The hawk carried her prize to the edge of our woods where she dropped down to eat, eventually flying off with what was left.  I am guessing that she may have babies by now - at the very least, she was hungry herself.  And all that is left now is a small pile of red feathers.  I know that not everyone is as pragmatic as I am about these things, but if you'd like to see the hawk sitting on a pile of feathers, you can look in Extra - no gore, but it's clear to see what has happened.  I stayed in my hide the entire time, by the way, not wanting to scare the hawk off her kill.

Aside from an hour or so in the hide, I had a great FT call with my parents - looking forward to seeing them in just a few short days.  I also sat through some PS tutorials and worked on some images.  I really need to get better at editing.  

Hubs has finished putting shelving in his car trailer which will make going to the races much easier as everything will have a place.  At least in theory...

Cheers,
Debbi