kate and geoff: Nature: NYC Style

Let it not be said that us New Yorkers don't get exposed enough to nature. True, we do have to travel to Central Park in order to see more than 300 square feet of grass all in one place. And in an average day, the only flowers you see are the ones for sale at a bodega. If you're lucky, you walk down a street that has trees planted in intervals along the sidewalk, which is lovely, except for the way the roots of those trees push against the concrete and create mountains and valleys in the sidewalk that you can twist an ankle on in far less than a New York minute. Dogs and cats are about as wild as it gets animal-wise. (And yes, I have seen a cat on a leash). No deer passing through to eat your garden. Mostly because your garden is on your fire escape 6 flights up. Well, I suppose there are pigeons of course. And they are wild in their way. Particularly if you've watched them nearly fly directly into you as they attempt to make a dramatic exit from eating the last of that bagel that someone dropped while crossing the street. And yes, let us not forget The Great Squirrel Episode of '08. But beyond that, this is a man-made urban jungle, not a natural one. Concrete, smoke stacks, sky scrapers, cars, bridges, iron, steel and brick.

So imagine Geoff's surprise, when he gets up from his desk this afternoon and walks past this guy, hanging out on top of our living room air conditioning unit.

Yes. That is a hawk. And yes, he is ginormous. To give you perspective, that is a pigeon he's having for lunch. Can you believe how HUGE he is? I mean, he's nearly 2 feet long from beak to tail feathers at this angle below. I can't get over it. I'm sorry to the queasy, please forgive the carnage. But that sure is nature, isn't it? See, we get plenty of nature. Plenty. As Geoff said, this guy was just really going after that pigeon. Just eating him like it wasn't even wrong.