Raptor unready

I could have kicked myself for not taking a camera with us to the local playground this morning. We got really close up to what was probably a young red-tailed hawk. A great big raptor, anyway. It was busy tucking into a rat or squirrel or whatever it had just killed, and though it gave us the once over it didn't seem the least bit bothered by us. It was still there when we headed back half an hour later, but by the time I'd nipped home for the camera and returned to the spot it had finally gone.

The rest of the (rather beautiful) day was taken up with various outdoor chores, plus a hike/scoot to the library. There's some new sidewalk on our route (all the houses have lost about eight feet from their front yards. I can imagine what would happen in England if the Council tried to take 8 inches from people's gardens). They finished laying it a few weeks ago, but it's still as pristinely white as untrodden snow, making me wonder if we were the first people to use it. I certainly haven't seen anyone else walking along it. I guess you can't make people walk, no matter how much sidewalk you provide.