Watching the Gardener

   As I was on my hands and knees transplanting cauliflower into the garden rows, a sudden feeling overcame me.  Eerily it felt as if someone (or something) was watching me.  Hmmm?  Where is that goofy cat?  Bat, the Bayou Prince Cat, has a sneaky way of creeping up on you and silently watching your every move.  He just sits and stares, then, suddenly darts out of his hiding spot to nearly knock you off your feet.  I am sure he is just being playful but, I have to admit, he has caught me off guard on several occasions.  A 16lb cat can really pack a wallop when it wants.  Anyway, no cat could be seen lurking nearby nor was any snoopy person in the area so I went back to my planting.

  Then...the feeling returned.  Something had to be watching me!  I usually get gut-feelings and tend to follow them.  This gut-feeling was not leaving so I needed to find the "watcher".  My search took me outside the garden gate and down the hill where I could get a better view of the garden perimeter.  Still...nothing.  I was just about to shrug off the feeling as a fluke when a loud "Kee-aah" followed by four more of the same came from the top of the dead oak tree.  Ahh, there is my watcher!  A beautiful, red shouldered hawk was perched on the tiptop of the tree and had the perfect view of this old lady in her garden.

  The sighting of the hawk pleased me as I know that my plants will be protected from varmints.  These hawks are agile hunters that can drop silently from a treetop to the garden without a rodent ever being aware of their presence.  Red shouldered hawks will eat most any small mammal, bird or reptile that they can catch but I am in hopes that this one will merely catch whatever munches my cauliflower plants!  I welcomed the hawk to the garden and I went back to work with my transplanting.  My garden is late as I was sidelined by a brief bout of sickness.  It is past time to get those plants to growing!

The Saga Continues But With New Actors

   Years ago, I noticed that a Cooper's Hawk and Great Horned Owl seemed to be almost friendly if that is at all possible in the world of predatory birds.  The pair could often be found in the same tree.  Usually, I would notice the hawk first then, if I carefully looked, the owl would be just a few feet away.  This odd relationship continued for years.  Eventually, neither bird could be found.  I would often hear hawks and owls but the odd pair had disappeared.  Perhaps age caught up with them.  I missed seeing these birds but life went on and they were soon nothing but a happy memory.  Then...this morning...another odd pair appeared.  

  I was coming back from my usual predawn walk to the pier when I heard the loud call of a Red-shouldered Hawk.  They have a very distinct (and loud!) call so it was easy to know who was in the backyard.  I eased my way around through the garden and back behind the shed.  There, in a tall pine tree, my loud-mouthed bird was perched.  The sun had not risen enough to get clear photographs of the bird from my angle so I "boldly" walked out nearer the tree.  I figured the hawk would take flight and that would be the end of that!  Nope, the hawk continued to yell all the while looking down upon me.  So...a few photo attempts through the darkness.  It was not until I had taken a dozen or so pictures, that I noticed the owl just a few branches below the hawk.  A Great Horned Owl stared at me without making a sound.  Well, now!  A new pair of odd "friends" were making the rounds...the owl for perhaps a final snack before nodding off to slumber-land and the hawk searching for its first meal of the day.  

  If I see these two together again, it will be an odd occurrence especially after the previous sightings of an owl and hawk together.  That arrangement lasted nigh on 9 years.  It would seem strange if another pair continued the saga.  I will have to take special notice on my early morning hikes for the next few weeks.