Snack Food

The neighborhood hawk has decided to treat my yard as a vending machine. We have chickens (they belong to the macaw and are his pets). The chicken food attacts doves and sparrows in great profusion. This is one of them. Sadly for the sparrows and doves, the hawk has realized that there are a bunch of small birds that hang out in a small fenced yard. The hawk as taken to hanging out in the tree next door watching the sparrows and snacking at will. My yard is full of feathers. I would find new homes for the chickens but they are all elderly and the macaw adores them. So this guy is potential food on the wing. Meanwhilte there are 10's of sparrows sitting in this one bush alone. Sometimes just feet from the hawk.

It was a bad day for pictures. Snack food was all that I could get a decent picture of. IR doesn't worrk well in overcast light and we tried the monopod today and everything is still unacceptably blurry. What is the point of a monopod? It feels as unstable as hand holding the camera and it sure doesn't seem to help very much. Is there some special way to hold one or use it?

Today I am grateful for clean water, enough food today and not having to worry about food for tomorrow and roof that will keep tonight's snow off.