TimeOut

An Eye In The Sky (1st eye)

We earthbound souls, able to move in only 2 dimensions tend to walk along, looking ahead, at our phones, or our feet, and the next hazard that will trip us up, while above us soar creatures with nearly-magical ability to move forward, backward, up and down, diagonally and through open air or bushes. Without expecting to, today on our walk we saw all these things! PLUS the closest man has yet come to real flight.

And yes, I am listening to Alan Parsons singing Eye in the Sky as I type this… We went about 25 miles NE to Rancho Bernardo to talk with my tax folks, then set out to find adventure. Find it we did!

Jays were craning their necks keeping a watch on us...Red-tailed Hawks were soaring above.

We walked 4000 steps (closely monitored by the wildlife) through countryside we had never seen before.

Quite a few hawks… which is why some others were hiding...

Always looking up for hummingbirds, my wife and I both spotted something in the distance.

I blinked and squinted into the distance… left- right- middle what? (remember I didn’t have the Zoom powered our) Then, suddenly, the hummer was in my face!

Hummer hovered right in front of me. I fumbled and shot into the sky twice. Both times connected!

More birds called to us.

A pair of hawks glared down at us from a light pole at the athletic field on the hill above us. They might have been doing a Birds & Bees thing because they both had the rumpled feathers / just out of bed look.

My wife said “it looked like only one fat bird a few seconds ago” (to her eyes). The camera tells no lies.

A hawk began to circle overhead, trying to blind me by flying between the camera and the sun.

Behind and below us as we entered a canyon, a huge gang of doves rose from the ground in a flurry of wings and cooing. Ah, that’s why it’s called Dove Canyon.

But they didn’t fly out of the undergrowth, because those hawks were still circling above; possibly they too can read the sign that says Dove Canyon.

As we strode down the dirt road,

we first heard, then later sighted a rushing waterfall.

A huge expanse of open land called to us, so we walked. This is called La Jolla Canyon.

Looking up, a hang glider appeared in the sky, then a second, third, fourth! Soaring through the air, silently borne on the wind, dodging in and out of the clouds and over the hills.