I helped save hawks today

This story actually starts yesterday.

I was walking Buster on our usual route, across the creek near my house, then following the dirt road as it goes around south, maybe a quarter mile or so, then back west over the creek again and back into town and then home.

We got to the bridge south of my house, and Buster was looking at something near the end of the bridge. He jumped back as a hawk flew out of the trees there and down the creek. I looked at where it came from and saw another hawk on the ground, maybe about 20 feet from the bridge. I thought maybe it was trying to protect its food or possibly had a broken wing. I was a little concerned, but after I got home, got busy and then had to go to work, so kind of forgot about it.

So today, we're walking by there again, and when I looked, there was a hawk, in the same spot, kind of flapping around.

I brought my camera with me today, and I thought I'd try to get closer — although not too close, in case the hawk wasn't really hurt or anything. I didn't want to wind up with those talons or beak in my face!

Here's what I saw:




It looked like it was caught in a trap.

And then I saw another one:


I'd also brought my cell phone, so I called a co-worker, Steve, who's an outdoorsman and works with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks a lot. He said he'd call the game warden, and called back a while later to let me know someone was on his way.

When Buster and I got back to the house, Steve drove up and I went with him to show him exactly where the hawks were. Being a trapper himself, he was a disappointed to see it. He talked to the game warden on the phone, telling what he saw and where we were, and dropped me back at home.

He called a bit later to let me know the one closest to the road didn't even have any wounds on its leg, so they released it and it flew away. The second one had some scrapes on its skin, so to be safe, the game warden was going to hold on to it for a couple days and make sure it didn't need any rehab, but it did otherwise look OK.

So all in all, this was a pretty good day.

Giving it up

I didn't really plan on making any new year's resolutions, since I never end up keeping them, but I guess in a way I have made one. That's to quit eating so much crap.

First step: giving up pop. Well, not entirely. But I'd like to quit being so dependent on the Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, etc. So I'm going to try and go through January without any. My main concern with those soft drinks, really is the high fructose corn syrup. Don't let the HFCS people fool you. There are plenty of reasons to avoid that stuff.

So far, I've done pretty well. I've had one 8-ounce can of Dr. Pepper (the last one I had in the fridge; hate to waste stuff, after all) and maybe about 5 ounces from a 20-ounce Pepsi bottle I bought earlier this week when I got lunch at the grocery store salad bar. And that's it.

As far as substitutes, I've been drinking more juice — orange juice and V8 Splash, specifically — and a friend convinced me to try Sierra Mist Natural. It's not too bad, and actually tastes better than the original. On a trip to the grocery store this week, I also realized that the sodas from Mexico (like Jarritos and Sangria Señorial don't have HFCS (and a lot fewer ingredients anyway).

I really haven't had any caffeine withdrawal effects, either. I had a slight headache when I woke up one morning this week, but that's about it. I won't cut Pepsi and such out completely, but I figure if I can go a month without it, that should break the mental part of it, and I can treat myself once in awhile — dinner out or something like that. But getting away from the "gotta have a little every day" mentality will be a big step to getting even healthier.

Out with the old

Good riddance to 2010. Really. I had had some high hopes for what kind of year 2010 would be. It didn't take much for it to turn sour. Or maybe I just remember the bad more than the good. So I thought I'd try to weigh it out.

Bad ... Thought I'd made a good friend; turned out to be a jerk.
Good ... Met the best friend I've had as an adult and made other good friends.

Good ... Went to the dentist for the first time in more years than I'd rather say.
Bad ... Went to dentist, had tons of cavities, paid about $1,000 out of pocket. $5,000+ car repair early in the year, with the car out of commission for 2+ weeks; $300+ furnace repair bill with furnace out of commission for a few weeks early in the winter. Money got real tight.

Good ... Lost almost 10 pounds.
Bad ... Gained it back at the end of the year.

Bad ... one of my doctors was diagnosed with Alzheimers. A good friend was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of breast cancer. My dad started out the year with some serious health problems.
Good: My friend found treatment for her cancer that's better than what her initial prognosis was. She's fighting like a girl. Dad is doing much better.

Good ... Buster started snuggling; main job feels more stable; went to social media conference for work; five years of survivorship; entertainment blog gained lots more readers; built a compost bin; cleaned out my garage; fixed my kitchen sink myself; saw Second City live with a good friend.

So OK, maybe there was more good than bad, but the bad was pretty bad (and there's some things I haven't mentioned because they're more personal than I'd like to share here). And some still have some repercussions rippling into 2011. A year ago, I had a lot of enthusiasm for what I'd hoped would be a great year. This year, I'm more reserved. Hopeful, but reserved.