Red-Shouldered Hawk in Sarasota, Florida
We had a big blow today. As I pulled into the parking lot at my apartment, tropical storm strength winds were kicking up dust and sending debris flying through the air. I don’t know what made me look up into the tree limbs hanging just beyond my windshield, or how I even spotted him. Sitting in the nook of a tree limb, perfectly camouflaged, was a Red Shouldered Hawk. Other than blinking at me, he sat perfectly still, even when I opened the rear cargo door, gathered up my groceries, and walked to my front door. I can only assume he was disorientd by the high winds. I never expected him to still be there by the time I returned with my camera, but he posed for a half-dozen photos before disappearing in a flutter of feathers. We don’t always need to travel to exotic places to experience nature. Beauty is all around us – if only we are open to seeing it.
After years of working 70 hours a week at jobs I detested, I felt like the proverbial "hole in the donut" - solid on the outside, but empty on the inside. Searching for meaning in my life, I abandoned my successful but unsatisfying career and set out on a six-month solo backpacking trip around the world to pursue my true passions of travel, writing, and photography. 
