With a break in the weather, we headed out to the Columbia Gorge on Memorial Day for a memorable walk in the woods.
"Let's count hawks on our way out," Lilly randomly suggests on the drive leaving Portland. 1...2...3...
Yeah sure, why not. A keen eye can always spot a couple hawks circling the Gorge skies. In line with our 2010 wild bird theme, we count 19 hawks in 19 miles!
"What's up with ALL these hawks?!?" Bunny wonders.
"Maybe they're gathering for Starhawk, the good witch who's casting healing Earth spells at Village Building Convergence tomorrow night," I reply in disbelief.
"Let's ALL go!"
Distracted by layers of birdcalls, it's easy to get lost in Oregon's deep green forest. 100 yards from the trailhead, we make a wrong turn and instead of a mellow waterfall walk, we found ourselves hiking up a steep basalt canyon to Nesmith Point (a 4.8-mile, 4,000-foot climb). The realization was made after several miles and Lilly's increasing protests. But, stopping at a viewpoint, we spied a family of hawks riding thermals up the canyon walls directly before us. This was our second random, wonderful wild bird experience this Spring.
The hawk theme and appreciation of random order continued through the evening with Eye of the Hawk brews and South African beats back in town.
And of course, in spiral dance with Starhawk the following night.
The river is deep
the rapids are strong
we're caught in a current
and don't have long.
Pull up our lives
Change is near
Pull together
Love is stronger than fear.
-Starhawk Spiral Dance Chant
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