A couple of the guys here at work were on break this afternoon and stopped by my desk to report that a hawk was eating a small bird out in the parking lot. What could I do? I rushed out and there, on the top of a utility pole, was a Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, calmly making a meal of some unidentified bird.

Can't say I was surprised, as she (of course it's a she) is a regular resident of the airport across the street, but it is still such a treat to see something so wild against the backdrop of a noisy, polluted, high traffic urban environment. Just seeing one of these raptors makes my heart sing. It's not just that these birds are so wild, it's also that they have always been a talisman for me - something truly special to me - perhaps I was a hawk in a previous life.

Hey, what do you expect from a middle-aged (okay, middle-aged plus) New-Age liberated woman?