Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. A large adult female Cooper’s Hawk. She has been hanging around our property for the past week. This is the first chance I had to get some decent pictures. Cooper’s Hawks are members of the accipiter family. They are primarily bird hunters. As  I said before I love to see and photograph any and all hawks.  Dave

01 28 2023 Dave Cesari

01 28 2023 Dave Cesari

01 28 2023 Dave Cesari

I have been, pretty much, kept in these last 2 days because I had a “Blue Light” procedure done on my face to kill (hopefully) all those pre-cancers there.  Tomorrow I should be OK to go out.

Out is where I always want to live – where I can be in nature as close to my front door as possible – Block Island in Rhode Island, Texas Hill Country, Pennsylvania Appalachia mountains, and Drummond Island, Michigan have all been that way.  Of course TGO is on the fringe of nature (That is why it is called THE GREAT OUTDOORS).

So, when I read of Dave’s Cooper Hawk it made me think of the birds we arrange for gatherings – places where we can go to see them gather to eat or nest.  I put on a cowboy hat to shield my face from the sun and rode my bike to Lake Judy to see the Purple Martins.  I did not have my camera with me but here is what I saw: “Pure nature”

When I arrived.

Shortly thereafter – not a Purple Martin in sight – smart birds on both sides of the dinner table.

While there, I photographed what I saw in the lake, Lilly Pads moving in the breeze. Researchers call my condition pareidolia, which is the false perception of seeing a non-existent face or pattern in everyday objects:

I see a fish jumping out of the water & look at the reflection – Oh my!

As you swing through life, enjoy the nature around you. You will feel good.