It was early; the sun had not yet landed on my solar panels, and just as I sat down with a cup of coffee this morning -- and I mean JUST sat down -- I looked out my picture window and caught this young Cooper's Hawk landing in a tree in what you could call my 'front' yard. 
At first, the hawk was hunting. I took some unremarkable portrait shots, but eventually the hawk stopped surveying the land for breakfast and turned attention to herself. 

She knew I was there. After I felt like she wouldn't fly off from being spooked, I whistled and made bird sounds to try to communicate. My dog was intently watching (it's the same tree a baby squirrel entertains him most mornings), and my cat was circling my feet, yet the hawk by this time was so comfortable; enough so to preen like this. To witness live nature shows is one of the best parts of living so close to the earth. It's never ho hum and I never tire of the wonder and beauty of life.