visit from a hawk

“The Hawk teaches you to be observant and take a close look at your surroundings. It soars with the power to overcome difficult situations. It soars in circles over the life of the earth, asking you to circle over your life and view it from a higher perspective.” ~from the blog Divine Sparks

A few days ago I was baking bread and looking out the kitchen window as I often do when I’m at the point in the recipe where it says “knead until silky-about 10 minutes.” Just then, a huge, beautiful hawk landed on one of our deck chairs. Of course, I was up to my elbows in flour and my camera was way back in my studio.

The back door was open so I was careful to walk out to the living room as quietly as possible, the wood floors creaking under every foot step. I whispered (loudly) “Jeff, come out here quick and grab your camera!” We have this sort of unspoken agreement in our house to move fast when there’s a good photo op.

He was out there within seconds, snapping picture after picture of the gorgeous bird. I was a little sad that it wasn’t me getting the photographs, but I was happy for him and glad that one of us was archiving the moment.

I continued to make bread, he went back into his study to work, and I kind of forgot about it. A little while later I knocked on his study door to see if he wanted a cup of tea, and there, on his computer screen, was the photograph pictured above. I was blown away by the detail and colors! Isn’t he amazingly talented? I’m so glad he’s my photography teacher and I look forward to learning more from him. I’m reading my books, playing with cameras, taking LOTS of pictures and getting a tiny bit better every day.

I looked up the meaning of being visited by a hawk, and found a fascinating post about it HERE. I think it’s interesting that this hawk came to visit when he did. I was finishing up a three-year project in my life (novel) and beginning to give a new project focus (tea book.) It was incredibly inspiring and uplifting, and I wanted to share the moment with you.

~Melissa