Visitations

Lately, seemingly everywhere I go, I am seeing hawks. Small swift ones, large soaring ones, some up close, most far away.... in back of the house over the greenbelt, while driving. I'm beginning to think they must be my totem animal as they draw my eye more and more these last few years.

Yesterday morning I was standing in my boss's office talking with him and through the window behind him I saw one swoop between the branches and land in a tree outside. I said, ' Look John, we have a visitor.' He rose from his desk and raised the blinds to check out this Red-Tailed hawk sitting 30 feet beyond the window. The bird seemed to sense we were there, hopped about on the branch a few times to show his various sides and after about a minute made a jump and with a massive swoop of his wings was aloft and gone from sight. A big rugged looking character with tawny coloured feathers on his breast, darker brown on his back and deep umber tail feathers. John sat back at his desk and said,' I'm all covered in gooseflesh! That was amazing to see him so close! Did you invite him here to visit? He had a sense of familiarity about him.' I had to declaim any sort of responsibility but acknowledged I had enjoyed the visitation as well.

A few minutes later into the conversation John was speaking of a good friend who had passed away last week and he caught me looking back in the direction of where the hawk had been. John smiled and laughed, 'Do you suppose....??' 'I can't say John but perhaps he just dropped by to say goodbye, so long and see you later.' Who's to say? Not me.