Watch a Hawk Making Lazy Circles in the Sky

   Yep, you can really do that here in Oklahoma.  The wind also comes sweeping down the plain, and wheat does have a sweet smell after a rain.

   The lyrics to the song "Oklahoma!" do a pretty good job of promoting the state where I grew up and where I love living.  We have other things here that people from a distance away don't get to experience.  Although not a large state, we have a wide range of geological features: desert areas, wide plains, gentle rolling hills, mountains, forests, swamps, rivers, and lakes.
   The song came into my mind the other evening when I was driving home from a grocery run.  A red-tailed hawk was making its way up into the sky, circling slowly as it climbed higher.  Hawks tend hunt early in the morning just after sunrise and again in the evening as the sun is going down.  This particular hawk was joined by a turkey vulture (or buzzard, depending on where you live).  As big as a hawk is, a vulture is much larger.  They were both circling in the sky, the hawk looking for a live meal, and the vulture looking for carrion.  Both magnificent creatures, each performing their part in the circle of life.
   I love where I live!