And guess who's coming to dinner at my place? This Cooper's Hawk. I have gotten a little bit used to the fact that he sees my bird feeders as HIS dinner, and he's right: he's a hawk, a raptor after all, and his dinner is usually one of my well-fed bird treats. It's the way the system works. I took this picture after he swooped in and missed. He hung around for awhile longer before flying off, but I have seen him before able to catch one on the wing. Amazing how much he blends into the tree, isn't it? (Click to enlarge)
And Jeff over at My Life... Lived My Way, who is a teacher and wrote a post called "Tired" relates how discouraged he is about the way people are not standing up to, well, anything. (Warning: he uses the F word in this post.) I never thought I would say this and really mean it, but I truly am wondering "what is the world coming to?" And especially, what is OUR world coming to?
The hawk is fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI honestly do not know what to say about the children described except that there are parents that do care how their children behave. It is shocking, though. I have the hope that the pendulum will swing back the other way.
I thought a giant marshmallow fell on the roof. Wow! That's one big scoop of snow, I think I won't stand the coldness there. Brrr.
ReplyDeleteYeah the hawk blended well with the color of the tree, doesn't he feel cold?
AL
ps. I have a comment on your last blog.
That is some ugly snow! I did like the hawk, you captured him beautifully...yes they are heartless hungry hunters..I suppose you could raise some rodents for him!!
ReplyDeleteI visited both the links. I am too outspoken and would have straightened everyone out in CE Cheeses..the only experiences I have had there with the grands in several different cities have been excellent fun for the adults and kids..and I did not drink beer either.
Our educational system is so out of whack, but we still need good teachers like Jeff..I can totally identify with the preparing kids for those darn old standardized tests..I saw that with our grands.. and it really ticked me off.
The children I come into contact with are polite and well mannered..so I see good things that our world is coming into...but I do feel sorry for the generation that will have to handle all the national debt. It worries me:(
That is some pile of snow. I hope the people in that house have a big shovel and a lot of energy.
ReplyDeleteRaptors are majestic creatures. In the days whe I had a back yard it was devoted to birds. I always knew when a raptor was in the area because the back yard would be totally silent.
Unsupervised children step on my last nerve, and their parents make me angry.
My heart goes out to the teacher. I'm so burned out and disgusted with the American people right now I could weep.
I added the 'Followers' gadget to my new blog. Thanks for reminding me.
There ARE well behaved children, and parents who care. Unfortunately the unruly ones make the biggest noise. It is a changing world that we live in but there are many who strive to make a difference. Thank goodness for those like Jeff. I am sure there are moments he would like to throw in the towel.
ReplyDeleteThat snow on the house - LOL! Amazing.
ReplyDeleteLove the hawk, even though I feel sorry for the little birds that will be part of the hawk's lunch.
I read both posts that you referred to and it is really disheartening. But things have to get really bad before the pendulum swings back. Unfortunately.
I would hate to be the owner of that house, wow. I've never seen that much snow anywhere, even Alaska. The hawk is so cool.
ReplyDeleteI followed both links and read the posts. Unruly children are annoying but it's the parents that make me so angry. The problem is that's probably the same way they were raised so they see nothing wrong.
I feel sorry for teachers like Jeff who are trying to educate children but get no support from the educational system.
It's a soft-serve ice cream house! I don't see any signs of tracks (from snow shoes, skis, or whatever), so I hope the house is either vacant or very well stocked. Obviously the chimney is not in use, and there can't be working electricity, can there? How could anyone live in such conditions? (Maybe it's just a photoshop blend between a house photo and an ice cream cone photo.)
ReplyDeleteVery nice hawk picture!
Lots of wonderful kids in the world, but the crappiness of some parents is only being encouraged by so much of today's media and entertainment.
What a gorgeous picture of the hawk!! Just GORGEOUS!!
ReplyDeleteAre you sure that snow picture is real? (and not a toy house staged?) Wow!
Love the hawk picture!! Parents now a days are not like they use to be.....I would say about 10% are great parents (of course my daughter is in that group) :)40% terrible with 50% just ok...but that's just me...thinking about first graders...mostly I think they just don't know any better( some of the parents).....what I want to know is where are the moms moms...Back in the olden days:) when families lived closer, I think moms(grandma) gave their daughters advice... now not so much b/c of many reasons..but one is they don't live close by and the other reason is sometimes they don't want to hear what the older moms have to say..that's the case with my daughter sometimes...
ReplyDeleteThose eyes, that beak, those feather! What a magnificent creature. Hope he finds some other tasty treats tomorrow and leaves your birds alone!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Star
That was a bird house, right?
ReplyDeleteGorgeous bird! He's so regal.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link to those posts. Both are eye opening, thought provoking, and quite disturbing. I know that both are things I'm soon to run up against and it is frightening. This is not to say that I haven't had to deal with other people's kids yet because I have. It's just that it happens much less so than it soon will. And trust me, my kid is not the most well behaved, but it is not from lack of trying!