migration

Over the weekend there was a sunny day with the wind blowing strongly from the south. I looked out in the back, probably checking my wood pile for the millionth time this year. and saw two large hawks circling over the hill in the back. Two turned into three, four, five, six. I realized I was watching a part of the spring migration of raptors back into the north country. In the fall, you still need sunny days, but the wind needs to blow from the north for movement to occur. The wind eases the journey southward for the raptors. The raptors also look for topography that provides strong thermal lift. Mount Philo is famous for that. I've seen dozens of raptors careening about the mountainside there on windy days there in the fall.
The hill behind our house lies at the northern end of the valley of Ira. Winds blowing from the south would provide that thermal lift needed for the spring migration. I'd never realized that about our place before.
As is often the case, I was filled with a sense of wonder. I pointed the hawks out to Allyn. Even she thought it was cool. There's the sense of observing something vast and mysterious, something much larger than the small self.