Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Morning Commute


(Photo Credit: Mark H. Ehlers)

I got into the parking lot at work this morning, and in between the two entrances to the parking garage I spotted a red-tailed hawk standing in the grass and pecking occasionally at the ground.

Did I have my camera with me? Of course not. It's sitting on my desk at home next to the computer, where I left it after I uploaded some pictures of my haircut Saturday, so I can take them back to my haircutter next time and say, "Do this again."

The hawk seemed pleased that I didn't have my camera. I'm sure it would have flown away if I reached for the camera. Wild animals are like that. So I just stopped the car (nobody was behind me) and watched.

He came up with what looked like a worm one of the times he pecked the grass, but then he put it back down and planted his talons over it while he looked around. He looked a lot like the picture above, with mistrust in his eyes.

Then a car came up behind me, driven by a woman who didn't look as though she noticed. She just sat behind the wheel looking straight ahead with a frown on her face. So I slowly pulled away, trying not to startle the hawk, and parked the car.

As I walked out of the parking garage, the hawk flew up and landed on the ledge of one of the floors above me. I hope he was able to finish his breakfast.

4 comments:

SkyePuppy said...

Charlie,

Wow!

Malott said...

I want you to post the pictures of your haircut. Or you can email them to me and I'll post them. That's the kind of hard-hitting journalism Malott's Blog is known for.

SkyePuppy said...

Mr. Malott,

I regret that I am unable to post my picture at this time. The publication of the true identity of a covert operative is a federal offense.

I might be able to post a photo of my little dog, Abby, since that would not be a violation of federal law, as she is only covert when her hair hangs over her eyes.

SkyePuppy said...

Mr. Malott,

OK. It's been a day, and the guilt is overwhelming.

Although I never actually said I was a covert operative, it was implied...

The truth is, I am not covert, nor am I covered under that portion of federal law. Neither is my little dog, Abby.

In fact, the photos of my haircut came out lousy (self-portraiture with a digital camera isn't as easy as you made it look on your blog). I finally got one that didn't chop off my chin and one side of my haircut, so I saved that one for my next haircut.

But it was, shall we say, less than flattering. It made me look as though my vacation just ended and I'm never going to get another vacation ever again. Ever. Not the kind of picture I'd want to have as the revelation of the woman behind the SkyePuppy mask.

If you were to publish it, of course that would be hard-hitting journalism of the hardest-hitting sort. But I'm afraid you'd lose your entire readership over the horror of it.

Best if we keep things the way they are for now...