Anne's Blog

    There is no apparent connection between myself and a Red-Tailed Hawk but, perhaps, I speak prematurely and without wisdom and thoughtfulness. Perhaps, the connection warrants some metaphorical analysis.  Last night, when I went for my evening walk, I looked for but did not see any Red-Tailed Hawks. Instead, I heard one as I slowly ascended what I shall, henceforth, call Mindfulness Hill: If you follow the cracks in the asphalt, you stay in the moment.  At first, I thought it was the screech of a Blue Jay but it was too unpleasant-sounding for that. A Blue Jay's screech is annoying but it doesn't send shivers down your spine afterwards. When I heard the Hawk, I immediately walked faster afraid it could see me when I definitely could not see it. I felt spied upon if not exactly preyed upon. When you hear a Hawk, it is obvious you have heard something not quite of this world. It is a sound of beings not bound by a gravitational pull to the Earth. It's the sound of a...

      On Monday night, I went for an evening stroll through Roanoke Park. I sat on a bench in the Northeast corner and observed. I like to scan the treetops for Hawks but I saw none. Instead, something made me look down to the overgrowth on my right. The overgrowth is right at the edge of a heavily wooded hill. I watched the grassy area move like a deliberate zig-zag wind was blowing through it. I was certainly imagining it but, then, a small gray creature partially emerged from the grass. I couldn't see its face and I think it was too big to be a mouse. It was some type of small gray varmint probably a shrew or a vole? As it emerged and partially revealed itself, it squeaked and squealed as if it realized it had possibly revealed itself to predators like the Great Horned Owl that flew over me in the same area on Sunday afternoon. Quickly, it darted back under the cover of the ivy-like ground cover and disappeared from my view.           ...