Cold

A Hungry Hawk, 2018, Archival Digital Print

Just a snapshot from my phone yesterday, a hungry young Cooper’s Hawk has been hanging around hoping to get a warm meal. Earlier he was sitting atop one of the feeders  he was so desperate to eat. The birds disappear as soon as they catch sight and the place is empty until he leaves.

It must be very hard on a young bird trying to learn to survive in such threatening cold. Last night I watched again the PBS documentary on The Donner Party. It is tonic to anyone who feels sorry for himself or indulges in self-pity, a reminder of what being cold, far from home and lost can mean.  A young woman who survived wrote to her friend about the experience.   She ends with this advice, “Don’t take no shortcuts and hurry along the way.”  This young Hawk will have to learn that.