Yesterday I was on my way back home driving from Northern California to Los Angeles. I pulled into a rest stop and went to stand out in an adjoining field. I like to break the monotony of driving long distances by stopping to take time and enjoy the beauty of nature and fresh air.
While standing there in the field I noticed a hawk soaring high off in the distance. It looked as if it were headed straight towards me, descending in my direction. It appeared too far off in the distance for me to feel any concern.
I was transfixed watching it glide downwards towards the earth, still in my line of site.
I couldn’t move. I had never witnessed anything like this before.
The hawk’s glide turned into a dive as it seemed to hurl itself towards the ground. It expanded its wings and swooped into an ascending arc, almost colliding with the earth. As it was coming up in its arc it had a large snake clutched in its talons.
The moment was hypnotic. Somehow, what had seemed so far off in the distance was no longer. The upwards arc of the hawk’s flight brought it within inches of me.
I ducked to avoid the snake’s thrashing tail from hitting me in the head.
My momentum in trying to avoid the snake’s flailing body spun me around in the direction of the hawk flying away. I watched it fade off in the distance, over the horizon with the snake still jerking in its talons the entire time.
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