Birds of Prey

The kids love the bird show. My sister would be so proud. She's a bird of prey gal -- having done some pretty note worthy research on the California Condor with the San Diego Zoo and such. In fact, she may know these two birds personally. While living with us between undergrad and graduate school, she volunteered with the Oregon Zoo's bird of prey program. 
We unintentionally sat directly in line with the birds' flight path so there were many times when the huge, majestic (a little scary) birds flew within inches of our heads. Hubby says that the turkey vulture clipped him . . . I was attempting to focus on the birds through my view finder as they swooped in. It can be a startling perspective! None of those close up shots really came out. I'd love to figure out how to do that better. UGH. Running into that photography skill barrier . . . but moving along. The bald eagle is my favorite. I swell with pride and choke up a bit. I suppose the bird has truly become, for me, a symbol of what I want to believe is good and true about my country. 

Speaking of symbols, just finished Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. Very interesting. Anyone else reading or read it? I'd love to discuss with others . . . I'm especially interested in Noetic Science and the implications for faith and religion. I'm going to need to gather my thoughts a bit before going down that rabbit hole here. Last evening I began a little "research" online, and found a couple of websites that may be a good starting place. I was also pleased to discover that one of the many unfinished books by my bedside may be a good introduction: The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself.