Chagrin River Road and Shaker Blvd.

Hello from the Chagrin River Valley.

The spot in this picture is special for many reasons. Coming down Shaker Blvd. and the hill from the direction of the house in the picture, which was west, I spied a pair of hawks. They were circling directly over the spot from where this picture was taken. Hawks have been very present in my life lately. They are special friends and messengers to me from the Great Spirit (aka God, the One, Barack Obama:-)). Hawks have been around me a lot lately telling me that change is coming. But, I guess I already knew that. I have seen them out my back window. I have seen them down the side street by my apartment. I have seen hawks doing all sorts of things, and nearby to my home.

I was thrilled to see these hawks. I saw them briefly.

The day was cool and crisp, but the Sun was warm, and the sky was a bright blue. This was heaven on Earth. I turned onto the Chagrin River Road from my street, Shaker Boulevard, guestimatingly ten miles away from my apartment building to the east. I then proceeded to see some crows in the distance by the barn in the picture above this one. That barn must be a stone's throw from the Chagrin River.

As I proceeded to look for a "get out and walk" place, I came upon Jackson Field. It's part of the Cleveland Metro Parks. The ground was covered with snow. There was a slight breeze blowing some snow out of the trees. High clouds sometimes shrouded the sun, but were too thin to block it much. Evergreens and hardwoods whispered something to me on the wind as I strolled among them. Crows remained hidden but were not shy with their conversations.

As I walked, looking up, I saw my friends the hawks again. There they were, along my path, circling high above. "Screee" called one. Silence. "Scree", another pause. They continued to circle. "Screee"....."Scree." Silence punctuated each call. I felt blessed to be alive.

Slowly I strolled more, among the trees and birds and air, in my element, feeling good. I made my way along the river bottom to it's banks. A tall cut cliff loomed from the other side of the water. Houses perched atop the bluff called to me "Live here!"

Along the bank I paused again, as I had so many times on this walk, to enjoy it. With hardwood trees around me and the river in front, I turned around, not knowing why, until I saw them. Sneaking through the woods, I saw a herd of six whitetail deer making their way along the river. Three small bucks and three doe. One of the bucks had lost half it's rack. They were little basket racks of three x three. They didn't see me for a long time, and just kept walking, heading north along the river. The bucks trailed the doe, and yet they noticed my scent along the trail first, sniffing the spot I had crossed on their path, then lifting their heads to sniff and look. One, then another saw something they didn't like -me - and took off. I saw them again down the river as they ran, but still not in any hurry.

I walked. Met a friendly couple of dogs and their owner who had just returned from Tuscon where he visited his son. I walked, pausing to try some photography with my camera phone. As I neared the car, I saw in the distance what I thought was probably a bald eagle.

I'm glad you got to come along on my walk with me.