why should my sleepy heart be taught

to whistle mocking-bird replies?

this is another bird you've caught,

soft-feathered, with a falcon's eyes.

the bird imagination,

that flies so far, that dies so soon;

her wings are colored like the sun,

her breast is colored like the moon.

weave her a chain of silver twist,

and a little hood of scarlet wool,

and let her perch upon your wrist,

and tell her she is beautiful.

~elinor wylie, the falcon~

My husband and I recently spent a lovely long weekend in Vermont at The Equinox Resort & Spa (http://www.equinoxresort.com/).  

One of the absolute thrills of the weekend was our two visits to The British School of Falconry where we had some fun hands on time with their Harris hawks.  We learned about the esteemed sport of hunting with trained birds of prey and even had the opportunity to take them out into the field and into the woods and see them in action.  We only caught a little tree frog, but the majesty of the birds was truly something to behold.  What an amazing experience.