Dale's demise

Today was chilly and very windy, but with the impending rain on the doorstep I couldn't resist the chance to get out and enjoy the fact that there was sunshine. The boys woke up around 6:30 and made sure that I knew it. After slopping out bowls of cereal (they opted for that instead of eggs, go figure) I started in on housework. By noontime I had the house clean, the laundry down to one load drying and even watered my neglected houseplants.

While we were waiting for Bubster to get picked up, I meandered out back to where I thought the Cooper's hawk was having his dinner and was horrifically mistaken.... those feathers were easily identifiable:

Evidently, Dale had become lunch - no wonder we hadn't seen him the rest of this week. This made me feel terrible, was there anything I could have done? Of course not - I have two huge cats, a pair of foxes and an occasional coyote that prowl my backyard and there's no way I can keep everything that lives in my yard safe. Still, I feel really bad - such a handsome creature with his life erased. Such is life, and how cruel it can be.

My other backyard creatures tried to cheer me up....

It's not your fault.... it's a rough life out here, you can't keep all the bad guys away

That's what he gets for being such a noisy show-off, out here screaming and fluffing his feathers

I don't have a clue who you're talking about.... it was a chicken looking bird?

Mmmphmpth

For humans, we can take care of ourselves and each other. I had figured out that the pheasant had probably been released with 1,599 others as part of the Maine Bird hunting program - it was a miracle that he made it through the winter anyway. Only to be killed in my backyard.

Can you tell I'm taking this a little hard?

I think I would rather remember him this way instead and just think that he moved on in a search of a hot hen.