Hawk Walk

Norwalk, CT / November 2020

On days when the weather (and my dog’s temperament) is agreeable, we walk to a park in our new town of South Norwalk, Connecticut. Dill, bundled in a herringbone check coat that barely covers his bony chihuahua butt, sniffs the same spots he’s sniffed over a dozen times now, and lifts his leg on nearly everything to release the tiniest drop of pee. I look out for red tailed hawks soaring above us. It’s not rare to see them gliding over the hill that we will eventually reach - as soon as Dill stops peeing on everything - but it’s always a thrill to see them doing what they’re born to do: fly and hunt. 

Occasionally, one lands on a tree branch overlooking the gravel path we’re crunching our way down, and I see it looking at the two of us swaddled in our puffy winter gear. Sometimes the hawk even turns his head and I know he’s keeping us in his sights just as I kept him in mine when he was airborne just a few moments ago.