Sumner and the Hawk

Here's a fun photo from the morning coffee time on the driveway back on September 14th: a hawk flew first into the Bradford pear tree, then jumped over to the dying cherry tree, and then perched atop the outdoor movie screen frame. His movements caught Sumner's attention, and I tried to capture that moment with my iPhone.

Meal No. 2774: Roasted Pork Tenderloin

On the final Friday night of January, it was all about roasting: roasted hoisin-glazed pork tenderloin, roasted Brussels sprouts, and roasted spiced potatoes. It proved to be a delicious and substantial supper, all tasty and good.

The next morning proved to be the second Saturday in a row with a multi-hour predatory perching by the neighborhood hawk. On a trip outside with Sumner, a swirl of feathers caught my eye, likely evidence of a missed pigeon poaching, which led me to look around for him. And there he was in the same tree as the previous weekend. Still didn't get to witness action and by mid-day he had moved on.

Meal No. 2769: Korean Beef Bowls

Back on Saturday January 23rd, I had some ground beef to use up and decided to go with the Korean beef bowl recipe that I'd tried for the first time back in the fall. Once again, it was quite good, and a bit spicy, although I upped the sauce too much and made it a bit soupy. Still, I think this is a meal worth bringing back with reasonable regularity.

Also, that chilly morning, the Roediger House was graced with a multi-hour visit from the neighborhood hawk, who does so enjoy the tempting prey who are attracted here by all the bird feeders I've got. I didn't get to see predatory action but I enjoyed snagging a shot of him with the morning sun full on his breast.

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Based on "Healthy Korean Ground Beef with Vegetables," from Kristen McCaffrey of the SlenderKitchen.com blog. [Published 13 July 2020]

Hawk's Sunday Dinner

The neighborhood hawk has been hanging around quite a bit these last few weeks, and this afternoon I was glad for him that he had finally scored a kill, since I've seen him miss out most of the time.

I was only able to snag a few shots before a strolling pedestrian at the bottom of the driveway forced him to seek safe haven elsewhere, albeit with that poor pigeon firmly gripped in his claws.

The day had started quiet but chilly, and I delighted in kicking it off with a fire, a steaming cup of winter blend coffee, and my faithful sweet companion, Sumner.

Fire No. 56: Sunday Morning

I'd even anticipated taking him for a good downtown walk as the sun warmed things up early afternoon, but then things took a turn for the grey and cold and dreary. I found myself making a second fire of the day late afternoon, and I was darned glad of it.

Fire No. 57: Sunday Afternoon

Cozy Inside, Hawk Outside

Fire No. 49

As we approached the end of November, it seems we could not quite shake off the unusually chilly temps. Last Tuesday, for instance, our high temp was still about 20 degrees below average for this time of year. A nice morning fire was called for, which was great for Sumner and me: he lazed in the big chair, and I enjoyed coffee and another Sinclair Lewis novel.

We were briefly interrupted, though, by predator and prey activity right outside the kitchen window, which is how I knew the hawk was again lurking about. In the picture above, you can see him perched watchfully. In the picture below, you can see that the waning last quarter moon is itself lurking over him in the western sky.

Meal No. 2248: One-Pan Pork Tenderloin

The end of Thanksgiving weekend found the Roediger House dinner table again happily populated with folks who are dear, and the four of us on Sunday night dug in to what has become an easy favorite and easy regular dish: one-pan pork tenderloin with green beans and baby yellow potatoes.

On one of the trips outside for Sumner to run around, I really screwed up by leaving my phone on the charger. A hawk was perched on the AT&T cable right above the front wall, and there was a pretty cool moment where he and Sumner had a brief staring contest at each other.

The hawk relocated to one of the cherry trees overlooking the driveway, which gave me time to grab my long lens.

He hung out here for quite a while but my birds all seemed to get word of his threatening presence and were nowhere to be seen or heard. The hawk took off after about an hour of sitting and spinning that little head of his.

And ain't this a fine looking dog?

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"One-Pan Pork Tenderloin with Green Beans and Potatoes," by Christie Morrison. In Cook's Country, October/November 2015, p. 27.

Meal No. 2241: Country Captain Chicken

Last Tuesday continued to be chilly, overcast, dreary, and not quite as rainy. With Mookie and Kristen on tap for dinner that night, and me at home for the day, I got busy during the late morning and put together a terrific slow cooker meal known as Country Captain Chicken. My first experience of this recipe was up in Princeton, NJ, with friends David and Everett on an Easter visit some years ago, and it's David's recipe that guided me. Some steamed brown rice, roasted cauliflower, and roasted asparagus completed the dish.

That morning, Sumner and I chanced to encounter a large hawk lurking about the yard. We scared him away from the small planting bed right outside the back door, and he flew up on top of the movie screen frame, and then he hustled over to the light pole at the end of the driveway.

The gray of the day made good pictures problematic but I still like to marvel over these creatures and capture those moments when I can.

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"Country Captain Chicken," a recipe shared by David Wald (Princeton, NJ), May 2009.

Up Close and Personal Hawk

Man-o-man. Back on 04 February 2017, I drove up in the driveway and realized there was a hawk sitting right there on the south driveway wall. I was able to park, get out of my truck, sneak inside, and grab my camera and long lens to come out and see if I could score some decent shots.

Regular readers know that I dig my hawk sightings at the house, and this third recent "hawk report" blog entry is because of five different days in January and February that I was able to watch and record hawk visits. On that particular day, I watched him over the hood of my vehicle for quite a while, in spite of the chilly temps in the 40s, but I wanted to get some good action, if I could.

He flew across the driveway to the rear property wall, likely because he'd spotted one of my precious chipmunks back there. He was so intent on getting that prey that he had his back turned to me...and I was able to really sneak up on him, inching my way closer and closer each time I thought I could get away with it.

While he stood on that rotting rail tie and before he turned around, I reckon I got to within five or six feet of him.

And then I just snapped away and he seemed most unconcerned with me.

This went on for a while before he jumped down...and then I really think I was only a few feet away. It was amazing. I kept clicking!

Two Hawks on Three Different Days

It's proven to be a winter of hawk action at the Roediger House, which I dig. In this post, I'm putting up photos of, well, short-sightings! The hawk didn't hang around long enough for me to get more than just a few shots, so here they are!

04 January 2017

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10 January 2017

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30 January 2017

A Grand Hawk at the Grand New Year

I was sitting by the fireside in my old man's chair in the kitchen when I was startled out of my work by the commotion of a hawk attack. Although it was more in my periphery, I knew that this seemed like a larger-than-normal hawk. I first spotted him down in the drain lane just outside the kitchen bay windows, and he had a mourning dove pinned down in his claws. But when he tried to fly away with it, he lost his grip. By then, I'd grabbed my camera and zoom lens and was ready to try to see what might transpire.

He'd flown around towards the front of the house so I hoped I could follow the action from there.  I first spotted him on the utility lines in front of the house, and so I was able to start snapping shots of him:

Suddenly he swooped down to the planting bed in front of the porch, and then jumped up beside the front steps...with me standing right there!

From the porch steps he flew up to the power lines across the street from the house:

Then he flew up to the light pole at the bottom of the driveway:

Then he flew into the cherry tree closest to the house:

Then he zipped up to the peak of the roof over the kitchen:

And the last I saw of him, he was hiding on the cover on top of the taller chimney of the house:

He's definitely the largest and most mature hawk I've seen in and around the yard. It was fun tracking him that afternoon.