I get the whole circle of life thing. I saw the Lion King. But Disney wasn’t telling me the truth. Oh sure, they made the animals look sweet, showing Simba and all the juicy animals frolicking on the African plains, but the ugly truth is when Simba got hungry one of those cute, cudly animals was going to have its throat ripped out. Trust me, I know this for a fact.

Earlier today, I met Chris for breakfast. We had a wonderful time, and, afterward, I took my little self home. I pulled into my driveway around 2:00, got out of the car and, bam, stopped dead in my tracks. A red-tailed hawk stood right off my beach, and under his talons was one of my ducks!!!

Have a good look. Yup, that’s a duck.

Mr. hawk flew into a nearby tree and I bet you can guess what I did. Yup, I ran into the house for my camera.

The culprit.

A Cooper’s hawk flew in. Obviously, he had 2:00 reservation.

Would you like a table for one? River view or crazy lady view?

I get it. Hawks have to eat. But, damn, did he have to dine right off my beach?

Let me back up a bit so you’ll understand my pain. Two days ago I came home (lately I don’t know if I’m coming or going). I was walking up my driveway and, bam, stopped dead in my tracks. A bald eagle was sitting on the remains of, you guessed it, a duck. Yup, another bird of prey and another duck lunch.

This was a duck, honest.

I had Harlee with me this time and, as the eagle flew into a nearby tree, my lovely dog thought, hmm, that might be something good to eat. He took off onto the ice, grabbed the breastbone, and started running around the yard, clearly pleased with himself for finding such a delectiable treat. I could hear the eagle laughing as I chased Harlee, shouting for him to ‘Drop it!’ Sigh. We have a lot more training to do.

I can see you back there. You know what you did!

Since I’m on the topic of my dog, he had some excitement New Years day. Around 6:00am, he was out in the fenced yard doing his thing, and he started barking. Now, these weren’t playful barks like the ones he uses when there’s a squirral. Nooooo. These were ferocious barks that came from some deep, primal wolf gene on his DNA. And what was he barking at, you ask? (You should be asking. Go ahead, ask.) No, not a crocodile. A coyote!

While Harlee went crazy, leaping into the air to try to clear the fence, the coyote just sat and watched.

After I took Harlee inside, the coyote stayed around for a while, investigating the opposite bank of the river, sniffing the air, and watching the crazy duck-lady taking pictures.

Life on my river is far from dull.

It’s time for me to go outside and take a head count of my ducks. I’ll leave you with a parting video. I call it my Fly By video. Listen carefully. You’ll hear the music of my river.

Blessed be :}