the circling hawks

Two days in a row, in two different places, twenty miles apart, I’ve seen two hawks circle in the sky above me.

I know it’s simple coincidence, but I like to believe that they’re the same pair, soaring gracefully and beautifully on thermal currents just for me, so I don’t forget to appreciate the simple beauty of the world around me.

(Of course, it's also possible that they are stalking me, waiting for me to fall to the ground dead, because they’re from the future and know something that I don’t.)

I suppose the moral is: Don't forget to appreciate the simple beauty of the world around you, because you never know when deathhawks from the future will show up and ruin your day.

 

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33 thoughts on “the circling hawks”

  4. Vultures feed on the dead. Hawks eat living small game…of course, this might just indicate that they know you’ll be transmogrified into a mouse at some point in the near future

  5. I love that moral. That’s exactly it, appreciate the beauty around you because you never know how much longer it’ll last. This could be as simple as a colourful fallen leaf on wet tarmac glistening in the sun or just the smile on a co-worker’s face during a hard day in the office.

  8. Once, when I was in veterinary school, I had a no good, terrible, very bad day. I’m quite sure had one of those little black clouds above my head as I left the campus for the day. I was stomping out to my car, completely absorbed in my own little world of misery, when a classmate called out to me. I scowled up at him and grumbled, “What?”
    He pointed to the sky and simply said, “Look up.”
    I did.
    Above us, in perfect “V” formation, was a flock of geese. They were flying very low, and you could see the sunlight glinting off their belly feathers.
    I couldn’t help but smile.
    To this day, when I’m in a particular mood, I think of that day and that classmate, who reminded me to look up. By the simple act of raising my head, my day was brightened.
    So I do believe I grok this statement:
    “Don’t forget to appreciate the simple beauty of the world around you, because you never know when deathhawks from the future will show up and ruin your day.”
    Thanks for playing the role of my classmate tonight, Wil.

  12. Funny you should write this post at this moment in time…I have had black cats or A black cat following me for the last two weeks. I have almost come to the conclusion it is some type of sign and that it is the same cat out to get me…lol. I mean, it is really freaky getting out of your car at night in a big parking lot and having this glowing green eyed creature of the night eyeing your every move….maybe I have just seen too many Stephen King movies….maybe it’s my crypt keeper come to life…although, “come to life” seems kind of ironic for a crypt keeper. Keep an eye on those hawks, Wil.

  14. I love this story. It is so true that sometimes just looking at nature and the things around us can give us the most comforting pleasure and make our day better.

  15. Made your DC 14 spot check; rolled 12 on your DC 10 knowledge: nature check, so you didn’t get any additional information (like eating habits).
    That would make me feel slightly uncomfortable too.

  18. I absolutely love thinking like this. There is a pair of trees in my neighborhood that reach across the street like an archway of color, wishing me a beautiful day.
    <3, Wil! Enjoy the simple beauty.

  19. It’s damn good to know that I’m not the only music geek who thought of how cool of a band name that would be…
    Your lesson here is a good one Wil, as my life changes drastically in weird ways and I struggle to learn lessons I should have learned long ago, reading your blog and listening to your podcasts are helping me realize some things I should have figured out ages ago… so for that I thank you.

  20. If you shoot them down you might be able to collect a few hawk feathers which are worth, like, $2 each.
    I’ve been playing marathon sessions of Red Dead Redemption over Thanksgiving.

  24. Yeah. You know, I have no idea what had me so worked up. I can’t remember. I’m pretty sure it was one of those days when a lot of little things combined to just irritate me. But I sincerely don’t have a clue. I can still see those geese, though.

  25. Tuesday I was looking out my window and I saw some movement in my front yard. Looked a little closer, and it was a deer. Went and got my camera, opened the front door as quietly as possible, and it wasn’t a deer: it was four. Got a lot of pix, unfortunately the sun angle was about as bad as possible at that time of the morning.
    Sometimes it’s extremely cool living at 9,000′ in a national forest.

  26. Bald Eagles for us. I mentioned it to co-workers, leading into the possibility of dropping some native american wisdom or new age lore on them by asking “What does it mean?”
    Maintenance guy: “It means they built nesting poles in Kingsley.”
    leave it to the maintenance guy to keep things reality based. Still… Stevethefruitbat knows what kinds of crazy things could have happened in the future. (yeah. how do those tenses work?)

  28. I wouldn’t worry too much about hawks waiting for you to drop dead. That’s what vultures are for.
    I see vultures circling frequently around here. They’re useful when it comes to dealing with roadkill. I just have to occasionally brake for them, as I have too much respect for their niche in the ecosystem to want to be the instrument of death for one of them.
    🙂

  29. Wil, thank you for reminding me of something I heard from a very wise man 26 years ago. I don’t abide by them nearly as often as I should.
    “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

  31. Actually, hawks mate for life, and they tend to nest in one place, returning year after year to the same place. I grew up with a pair that lived in the trees on our farm.
    I can also scream like them, and have them follow me, screaming back. I think they just like to argue.

  32. I was in an open-air production of Macbeth last summer, and we had a pair of hawks hanging around the stage for the whole run. We named them Malcolm and Donalbain, and they should have gotten top billing. It was just one of those perfect little things that happen sometimes.

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