hummingbirds & hawks

one week until christmas in los angeles. behold! some welcome color change!

another blessed, lovely day! *gratitude* lee and i went to our usual park for our usual walk and play. we saw a pair of hummingbirds play and joyfully flit about. love them so! we saw my beloved totem, red-tail hawk, hang out right above us on a light post. we said our hellos, listened and watched awhile. mr. hawk was calling non-stop before he took off and landed directly atop the nearest soaring pine.

another hawk then swooped over from a neighboring sky-high tree, landing directly next to hawk 1. they began calling in unison. to me, it felt strange. the calling continued uninterrupted for over five minutes (at which point we left so lee could get a nap in--never happened by the way, but he's now snoozing comfortably and adorably to my right. woot!). i wondered if these were two baby hawks who needed their mama.

a few days earlier we were blessed to see two hawks soaring; a larger one flying lower, and a smaller one, exploring loftier heights. i decided that it was a mama teaching her baby to fly. so today my mind immediately went to the thought of baby hawks in distress. i wanted to stay longer and investigate, but lee-lee is first. as we were taking off, a mob of crows flew in, ready to harass and chase off the raptors. who knows what happened, but being that this park is our little hotspot, perhaps we will see more avian-action. it seems to be a bird-y hotspot too :)

fun fact, my first word was "bird". i enjoy watching them congregate and soar, listening to their melodies, and just plain enjoying their presence. almost all my animal totems are birds. lee is fascinated by them. although his first word was "dog"--kid loves dogs. lee has praying mantis and grasshopper totems (and now red-tail!) so far. a baby of each visited him. he was very intrigued, and i was delighted as well. being that mantis is also a totem of mine, i had visions of mama-baby tai chi dancing in my head... along with some sugar plum fairies ;) ho ho ho!

i'm very excited for all that's coming up. the winter solstice, lee's first birthday (!), christmas, the new year. i am looking forward to celebrating and sharing these special times with baby boy. yay.