feeding the ducks

Tenney Park in Madison, with my grandma and grandpa... my little brother and I, with a bag full of bread crumbs... feeding the ducks. 

Such a simple thing, going to the park, tossing out the bread crumbs, and squealing with delight when the ducks would come gathering around us. 

My grandparents took us to the park all of the time. We would watch the boats pass through the locks from one lake to the other. We'd wave to the boaters and smile when they'd wave back. 

We'd walk all around the park, and up and over all of the bridges. 

And grandpa would pick up stones, and show us how to skip them on the water.

a new beginning

So, I've been neglectful of many things this past year, including this blog. Not that I ever stopped taking photos, but in sharing them, and putting thoughts to images.
I've been fortunate this year to be witness to a pair of nesting red-tailed hawks, as they carried twigs and built their new home; watching them nearly every day as they soar, hunt, and feed, and continued to create their nest.
And just recently, I was treated to the calls of their juvenille young hawk(s) as they call to mom and dad to bring them food. "Scree!" "Scree!" Here is one young hawk, feeding on a small squirrel. So close, and so completely unafraid of me or my camera.

I'm so lucky they call my neighborhood 'home'.