I admit it. I woke up grouchy. Yes, the closeness of the pandemic has squeezed our home life into something very stressful. So I went to coffee to be grouchy with someone else. And we were.
About 3 miles into my 5 mile ride to work, I was starting to feel better. I turned west down a paved alley. In the middle of the alley I saw what looked like an old sweater piled up. As I got closer, it started to look more like a dead animal.
Normally, it's a thrill to see a hawk on my morning commute. And the antics and occasional nobility of grackles often brightens my rides. This was not that.
The hawk apparently captured the grackle but contacted a pair of powerlines while doing so. They must have died instantly.
I don't think I could do it - those photojournalists and naturalists who capture and document death and suffering. I love taking photos that celebrate life in its variety and infinite wonder.
We're living in a time when death is much more prominent here. Lubbock is making national headlines for our Covid-19 infection and death rates. Our murder rates and traffic deaths have skyrocketed as well.
I rode away from the birds, both still beautiful but now tragic, and noticed trash and graffiti I normally ignore.
"What wins can you celebrate today?"
In the last few hundred feet of my ride, a young woman in a really big truck decided to run a light to beat some traffic as I was going through the intersection. I was watching her and slid to a stop just shy of her striking me.
For some reason, I can't get those birds out of my head.
May you be well, blessed, and careful.
