Dima called out from behind me as we walked along Elephant Rock Trail. “Look up! Directly above you!” A beautiful red-shouldered hawk was observing us from a fallen tree suspended above the trail. We noticed it had one talon curled up close to its belly. It was a pretty cold day in spite of abundant sunshine so it was probably trying to keep warm.
It had been over two years since Tim & I took this long, hilly, walk out to Elephant Rock by Morgan Creek. This time Dima, Larisa and Katie joined me. (Finn was at camp.) It looked a little different out there without leaves on all the trees.
After conquering the rock they couldn’t resist the challenge of crossing the creek on a fallen tree trunk. They kept testing their balances while standing, but finally decided to sit and scooch over bit by bit.
Larisa and I started heading back down the trail while Dima and Katie came back over the creek and then caught up with us. Watching them cross the creek the one time was more than enough excitement for me!
No way would I have crossed that creek on that downed tree log! Even scooting across while seated would have given me the willies. Good for them though — they made it over together!
Me, either! It was all I could do to watch them cross the first time. It makes me wonder if they’re the sort of people who might wind up on one of those reality survivor TV shows…
Kate is growing fast! I guess that happens, ha!
There is a rock next to one of our streams that looks like an elephant head, too. We call it ‘Ganesh’ after the Hindu god. 🙂
There’s no way to keep kids from growing so fast, although from the kid’s perspective, adulthood seems like it is such a long way off. Do you have any pictures of your Ganesh on your blog? 🙂
I looked through my archives and I couldn’t find one. If I come across one, I’ll share it. I haven’t walked up there in a few years due to my wonky knees. My spouse tells me a lot of big trees have fallen across the path making it even harder to access. Not a spring chicken any more! 😀
Thanks for trying to find a picture, my friend! Sorry to hear about your wonky knees. I keep hoping mine won’t give out because I have to keep squatting when doing chores and taking pictures to keep from painful forward bending. (If it’s not one thing it’s another! 🙂 )
I do see the elephant head. That hawk was giving you the side-eye at one point. That’s great you got to see him up close. I’d be reluctant to cross the Creek using that fallen tree too, by any method. I guess I am a scaredy-cat … I hope I was more adventurous in my youth!
I think I was a little more adventurous when I was younger, I had no problem climbing trees, much to my mother’s dismay. But I think I was more wary of water and never did well with swimming lessons. I’m thinking of you with those dangerously low temperatures – I hope you’re okay up north there! (Ours are supposed to arrive tomorrow, tailing this ice storm.)
I was not adventurous about climbing trees and even though I had swimming in gym class in 8th grade, I never learned how to swim. People say “it’s not too late to learn” but I am not interested really as I will never go on a boat and believe me, I stand back far enough from the shoreline on a windy day. 🙂 Thank you for thinking of me Barbara. Today it was -9 air temperatures and -18 wind chill/real feel when I got up. I’ve been running the car every morning for 45 minutes. It is still cold now (10:00 p.m. is 7 and a -2 real feel), but the cold advisory has been dropped; in its place they upped the snowfall here from 2-4 inches to 4-6, maybe 7 inches, beginning at midnight, all thru Sunday. At least it is supposed to be light snow, but that’s a lot. I hope you fare okay and stay safe during the ice storm and then the snowfall. They’ll be some photo ops anyway, probably the only good thing to come of it. I’ve not taken photos outside since November since the weather has been so brutally cold, I don’t want to damage the camera or battery.
I must be getting used to living in the south because it is 15°F this morning and the news people on TV are freaking out. And I’m panicking, too, keeping the heat up and the faucets dripping. But you’ve had -9°F!!! I have not taken any pictures from the ice storm. I ventured out to take the garbage out and check the mail yesterday, proceeding very slowly on the slippery ice. Looks like these brutal (brutal for this area) temperatures will be here for at least a week with a possible snowstorm brewing for the coming weekend. The daffodils are halfway up out of the ground and I wonder how they will fare. Hope you’re staying safe and warm, my friend!
This departure from the norm for North Carolina weather must be a new shock to your system. A fellow blogger who lives in South Carolina said it was single digits today. He and his wife moved from Colorado after 30 years of dealing with the cold and snowy weather. Just take pictures from inside makes sense – don’t venture out on the ice. I worry about the squirrels a lot – they’ll starve or freeze to death in this weather, but the neighborhood streets and the Park perimeter path are not safe, so I can’t do it. The only thing I might have taken the camera outside for, had it not been so brutally cold, was about 20 birds on the utility wire, all huddled together. But that was it. We have some snow and more cold the end of the week, but not a storm per se. I hope the daffodils don’t get overwhelmed by the snowstorm. Marge always has crocuses come up every Spring. I’ll bet they won’t emerge until April this year!
Great shots of the hawk! I did see the elephant’s trunk! Very cool! There’s one in Wilbraham, my former hometown, called Whale Rock.
Thank you, Karma! I wished I was taller – we all had stiff necks from looking up at the hawk. I looked for a picture of your Whale Rock online – wow!!!
Awesome shots of the Red-shouldered Hawk! The close-up is gorgeous, Barbara!
Thank you, Donna! It was quite awe-inspiring finding ourselves so close to him!