The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with hands clasped that we might act with restraint, that we might leave room for the life that is destined to come. To protect what is wild is to protect what is gentle. Perhaps the wilderness we fear is the pause between our own heartbeats, the silent space that says we live only by grace. Wilderness lives by this same grace. Wild mercy is in our hands.
~ Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place
I walked out to the dock this morning and was surprised by a hawk landing in a tree very close to where I was standing. What a gift it was, to have a hawk so close. I was so surprised that it took me a minute to remember I had the camera with me.
I’m not sure what kind of hawk it is. A Sharp-shinned Hawk, maybe. It’s smaller than a Cooper’s Hawk, although it’s possible it’s a juvenile.
The birds don’t seem to have found the new feeders just yet. I expect it will take them a few days to discover them. There is already so much food available in the trees and meadows that the feeders are more for me than for the birds. Not that I’ll be dining at the feeders, silly. I put them up so I can get a better look at the birds spending the winter with us.
Or maybe that’s a lazy look. I can see the feeders from the house. The places where the birds usually hang out and eat are not as nearby or as visible from the house. For instance, the cherry tree in the scrounger’s garden is a popular lunch and dinner destination, but I have to gear up (wellies, especially, after all that rain) and stroll out there if I want to see who is dining on the dried cherries or the seeds from last summer’s zinnias.
We are having amazingly beautiful and warm weather today so I don’t want to spend too much of it indoors. Thanks for stopping by. Let’s meet at the Point for sunset. I like the dock, but you can see so much more standing on the beach at the Point. Sunset is at 5:12 PM. Because there are no trees blocking the horizon, arriving five minutes or so before that is usually good enough. It’s in the mid-50’s and the winds are calm so it shouldn’t be too bad out there.
Be good, be kind, be loving. Just Be. 🙂
Today’s joys: Spending time with a hawk; sunshine and warm temperatures; the changing light; birdsong and chatter in the garden; celebrating the day.
breezes at dawn 
Close encounters with hawks do tend to make you freeze. Such birds!
I love this “Perhaps the wilderness we fear is the pause between our own heartbeats, the silent space that says we live only by grace. Wilderness lives by this same grace. Wild mercy is in our hands.”
If it makes you fee any better, the birds are mostly ignoring my bird feeder, too – outdoor grocery store still has plenty of offerings….but maybe if RC Cat wouldn’t sit in the closest window quivering, it might help
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Don’t tell RC Cat, PhilosopherMouse, but the image you presented made me chuckle. My own cats do the same. They think it’s cat TV.
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Beautiful captures of the hawk Robin.
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Thank you, Colline. 🙂
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Your photos are so beautiful. I particularly like the blue jay. When I was a child, my dad rescued a young jay that had fallen from its nest and raised it, teaching it to hunt and fly. For several years after it had gone wild, it would still light on Dad’s head if he was out in the yard and ride along there as he went about whatever he was doing. So, the blue jay reminded me of Herkimer.
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Thank you, Arlingwoman. What a wonderful thing for your father to do, and what a wonderful memory to have now. 🙂
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It’s nice to pause by your beautiful words and pictures again and to soak up the peace of nature that your blog always inspires. Hope all is well, Robin.
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Thank you, Kathy. It’s so good to see you again. 🙂
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What a treat to see this series! Love the walk on water. Thank you, Robin!
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You’re welcome, Amy. And thank you. 🙂
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Meet you at the point.
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See you there, Dawn! 🙂
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Such a lovely pause that refreshes here. Now back to taxes (sigh).
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Glad you got a brief break from such an arduous task, Gunta. 🙂
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Very beautiful pictures Robin, especially capturing the hawk!! Love seeing the hawks as long as they are not at my bird feeders! 🙂
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I have one tiny Apple on my crab apple tree and I was sure the birds would go after it, since it is so near the feeders. But so far, the Apple remains. I like your photo of the bird eating the cherries. Jane
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Wonderful hawk photo! I’m fascinated by birds of prey, how nice this one decided to sit with you for a bit. I think that is a bufflehead doing the walking on water act?
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Incredible! We are staying in Arizona for a few months, and a couple of hawks enjoy floating on the breeze just above our casita. They haven’t come as close to us as ‘yours’ did for you, but we sure enjoy watching them languishing in their aerial freedom!
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