Hawks

This is a heck of a week. Eleven days between days off and lots of work to do when I'm there. Combine that with pain and infection and I can't say it's been great. Still, I did have one nice moment today. I was walking back to work with a sandwich that I was going to eat at my desk when I heard a distinctive shriek above my head. I looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the hawk that had made its presence known. At first I saw nothing but blue sky. Then, soaring high above, was a red tail hawk. Then, below that and streaking down the length of the street, was another. I lost sight of them for a moment and when they again came into view one of them swooped down and attacked the other. It was a quick, slashing attack, over in a moment. Gone again, two hawks showed up seconds later, one above the other. The higher one folded its wings and lost altitude. I assumed it was a resumption of the fight, but when the two birds bumped talons it was slow and almost gentle. Then they flew together, as if in formation. Then a third hawk came into view. And a fourth. The mated pair separated. The four flew among the buildings, coming into and out of sight. Another attack as one hawk dove upon another. The attacked bird was hit and had to struggle a moment to remain airborne. Then it was over -- for me anyway. The birds, not confined to a little patch of ground, moved their dangerous dance to another part of town. It is nice to receive an occasional reminder that the world is a vastly more interesting, beautiful, and exciting place than we can usually see from our workbenches.