HAWK is BACK

She's back.My Cooper's Hawk. She sits on the cherry tree and stares. And looks. And swivels her head all around like she's possessed. Then she swoops down for the kill and carries off her prize. Today it was a small bird. She yanked out those feathers so fast, before you could even say "appetizer". Then she was off again. And she was silent. Can't even hear the air whoosh past her wings. She tends to come back every few days, and then I know she's all right, cause she's hunting. And staring. Pretending to be possessed....

RAIN DAY last day of February

    Last Day of February Forecast: Rain to Snow to rain to wind to rain ( again) .It's that rainforest thing. Again.

 I was tromping around in the muck saw the rain hanging like fat beads fom the grape vines. You can see  ( well,I can see it) two arms springing  out of the vines , grasping the rain in one claw.

 That's the trouble with a rain-ikky day. It's very wet and soggy. It thunders in the gutters above.

                                              Pounds on the bird bath....

 Hangs on the cloven hooves of the grape vines. Does kind of look like a hoof, doesn't it?

Bunny is the smartest of us all. Cat nap . Over the edge of the couch. Oblivious. She snores, you know. .....

COOPER's HAWK RETURNS

 She has returned. My Cooper's Hawk. She sits on the fence hunting small birds, hunting pigeons, hunting rats. There are rats around. Have seen them scurry under the bushes.....big black furry things. Have seen my Cooper's Hawk swoop . They have this surprise and attack method of hunting. Doesn't always seem to work. In some cases they will get killed during the surprise attack; I read somewhere that even though they are stealthy birds of prey they are quite addle-brained when it comes to hunting.
   But SHE seems plenty smart to me. She watches me through the window, probably thinking I am some sort of pigeon.......

 The female is slightly larger than the male. The scientific notes I read said that was because she eats more than the male......they live for about 12 years, sometimes up to 20 years. Depends on the area they favour. This one must live down in the forested area down from our house. We are close to the ocean on one side, and surrounded by forest on the other. Years ago the Cooper's Hawk was called the "Chicken Hawk"  because it used to be known for killing chickens on farmlands. It will hunt any smaller bird than itself, however.

Every day I look for my hawk ( yes, I call it "my" hawk....can't help it.....she recognizes me when I'm out in the yard). She fixes her eyes on me  and I can't take my eyes off her bright yellow, sharp talons. She flies silently. One minute she is there, and the next..........gone. Quiet. Hunting.

Late August......

 Late summer days are nice and hot....mornings cool....hint of fall. But , shhhhhh, don't tell anyone. Don't want people getting frantic. Thanksgiving ( Canadian, of course), just around the corner, Halloween, pumpkin pies, Remembrance day, and then Chrissstttmmmaaas.....ssssh. Don't tell anyone.  But the Hibiscus are blooming, like they always do at the end of summer. And this year, are completely fabulouss. If they were fashion models , I think they would strut down the runway...

                Pale Pink Hibiscus.....huge, moon faces peering out from railings.

                    Pink Hibiscus. Falling everywhere. Falling over, into the doorway.

 Peace roses ( at least, I think they are Peace Roses), blooming later than usual. Huge. Fragrant.

And last of the sweet peas, growing pea pods as we speak, even though this group  is picked every day. Coming to an end. Never long enough....... but it is almost fall ( ssshhhhhh, we won't tell anyone).

Hot days

 Peace roses on one of the hottest days. This hot spell has made them bloom again, and again.

They  are huge this year...big as dinner plates, some of them.....

 Back porch in early morning sun. Have had to pull lots of scraggly vines from some of the pots.  The begonias are beautiful, the fuschias are great, but messy. Next year, just begonias........

 Japanese Anenome. I have one plant, that never seems to spread, even though it's supposed to be invasive. Just stands straight up and blooms.

And then there's Cordelia. Her favourite thing to do on these hot days is to sleep under the bench and drink out of the pitcher. She has the right idea....

In the heat of the day.....

 ......there be skads of sweet peas looking out on this world.

And Begonias looking in through the glass door, wanting air conditioning........

Pastel Sunset

Couldn't resist the sunset tonight. Dashed outside....its already fading by now, but was able to catch the painted clouds. Wonderful hot day. Worthy of a sunset like this. It's as if raspberry sherbert was let loose, somehow.........