Tail End of a Beautiful Sunrise
Putting It Down on Paper
I can’t say I have ever been very good at writing. My grades in English all the way through school will testify to that. Up until fairly recently, I have not even had the desire to write, so why all of a sudden the interest in it? It probably is due to various factors. I find that age may play a big factor in it. As all of us find out, the older we get the faster life passes us by, and my life is no exception. Due to that reason alone, I want to put a few things down on paper that have been swirling in my head for quite sometime. Are these areas of interest anything of an epiphany? Absolutely not, just topics that I have an interest in. Another reason for the sudden urge to write is the life God has Blessed me with. I have a wonderful wife, two wonderful kids and the four of us are thrown together on a ranch with numerous pets, and each one of us including our pets have a story to tell. Through the use of images and text I’ll do my best to chronicle some of our stories.
Depth in Shadows
Sun hitting a Pecan tree at just the right time, produces beautiful depth with the shadows on the front of the hay barn.
The Atlanta Garlands drove all day yesterday, through much of the evening and arrived just before midnight last night. Christy’s brother Steve, his lovely wife Julie and their girls, Kaitlin and Kassandra made the journey to our little town to catch up with family and celebrate the arrival of the new year.
Kassandra and Kaitlin
Dawn brought sunny skies with cool temperatures. That didn’t stop Kaitlin and Kassandra from making the barn rounds early and reintroducing themselves to the barn tenants, since their last stay here two years ago. I met them at the front door with cereal bowls in hand after their early morning tour. A bowl full of Reese’s Puffs followed by Tom and Jerry on Cartoon Network and they were ready to go again. A busy first day.
The day may have been misty and overcast but I couldn’t resist stopping and taking a picture of this Red-Tailed Hawk next to the road. Not the best picture but a certain “winterish” feel to the scene. The hawk tends to meld into the background but without leaves on the tree, one can see the size and feel the weight of such a bird.
Red-Tailed Hawk
Some Facts:
The Red Tailed Hawk typically weighs from 690 to 1600 grams (1.5 to 3.5 pounds) and measures 45–65 cm (18 to 26 in) in length, with a wingspan from 110 to 145 cm (43 to 57 in).
It is legally protected in Canada, Mexico and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, the majority of hawks captured for falconry in the United States are Red-tails.
In flight, this hawk soars with wings in a slight dihedral, flapping as little as possible to conserve energy. Active flight is slow and deliberate, with deep wing beats. In wind, it occasionally hovers on beating wings and remains stationary above the ground. When soaring or flapping its wings, it typically travels from 20 to 40 mph (64 km/h), but when diving may exceed 120 mph (190 km/h). When the Red-tailed Hawk walks, its steps are slow and awkward.
Because of its robust crispness, a certain recording of the cry of the Red-tailed Hawk is a cliché cinematic sound effect. This high, piercing scream is often featured in the background of adventure movies to give a sense of wilderness to the scene. However, the cry is often inaccurately used for the Bald Eagle, whose own vocalizations are quite different and less robust.
Snow came to our little town on December 04. Depending on where you were you might have had up to 3” worth of the new fallen blanket.
Snowy Backyard
Having grown up in the midwest, seeing a little snow fall always brings back memories. Our house was situated at the top of the street so when the snow came my brother and I were poised to throw on our winter gear, grab our sleds and head for the hill. A little bit of ice made the runs even faster.
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Timothy Stark Raisbeck A Kansas City native by birth, but a Texan since 1980... The Rest of the Story » -
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