Swainson's Hawk on a rainy day

Taken late yesterday afternoon, in the rain. I had a late afternoon physiotherapy session (shoulder and back), and had already decided that I would go for a short drive SW of the city straight afterwards, no matter what the weather. Well, dark clouds filled the sky and part way there, the rain started. This beautiful Swainson's Hawk was sitting on a high fence that ran along the top of an embankment on the side of the road. On a sunny day, it would have been perfect, but, grainy photos are better than nothing, especially as this bird of prey was all that I saw to photograph during the whole drive. The bird was little more than a dark silhouette, so needed brightening.

At just after 7:00 a.m. this morning, it's still raining. I got up early, hoping to meet up with friends for one last bird walk, but I just don't feel like getting soaked. I would only be able to manage a very short distance, anyway, thanks to an extremely painful back, so I might just climb back into bed instead .... sigh.

Almost one year ago to the day of southern Alberta's devastating Flood of the Century in June 2013, people are getting anxious about the amount of rain that has been falling and continues to fall. Most of the flooding concerns seem to be from just south of Calgary, especially in places like Pincher Creek. I guess we will all be finding out in the next while.