A Print for my Brother

The Hawk - God Of The Sky

A hawk that landed in a tree right outside our window and waited long enough for me to get  find my camera and capture this extraordinary event.

 

 

Saturday morning I lost my youngest and last surviving brother to suicide. Like so many of us, my relationship with both my brothers was difficult in so many ways, yet, we had deep familial bonds that always survived the painful struggles.

My sister, SIL and I were standing under trees across the street when the ME van carried him off'  We were so focused on the van that we did not see what was taking place above us all.  But after I was settled in at home, many hours later, my partner Bill, who was standing alone at the time, told me what he saw.  Flying above the "shed" that was my brother's man cave where he was found, was a very large red hawk circling around and around.  It took my breath away to hear this.  A bird has always made itself present when other relatives have passed on.  But never a hawk.  I was immediately struck with the thought that it was either my father come to lead his soul onward, or it was Larry's spirit finally freed from this earth and flying around in the sheer wonder of it.

 

 

I shared this with my sister-in-law, who then told me that when my brother, a mason, was building a wall beside his house, a monster of a hawk flew in and landed on the wall beside him. 

The hawk is a spiritual messenger, and upon a Google search, I just learned that according to Spirit Animals & Animal Totems ,  "In Ancient Egypt, the belief was that a hawk-headed spirit called “ba” would fly off a mummy to come back among the living as a hawk or swallow. The hawk symbolized a part of the soul that would be freed up after death and come back to the world of the living in the shape of a bird. It was also the animal of choice for the god Horus, god of the sky, who was represented with a hieroglyph depicting a falcon or hawk."

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was parking my car in the local supermarket when I nearly jumped out of my skin.  Something large and red caught my peripheral vision and I turned to see this huge hawk barrel into the wooded area beside the parking lot and disappear into a tree.  I was astounded to see this in such a busy place...who would think of a hawk hanging around the parking lot of the busiest place in town!  No one else seemed to notice it, though.  I appeared to be the only one standing outside my car with a jaw dropped to my knees dumbstruck.

This bird symbolizes a divine connection and acute observational and intuitive powers.  I'm going to be thinking about my newfound relationship with the hawk.  Perhaps the hawk is my new spirit totem who is trying to teach me something. 

 I'd very much like to think of my father and my brothers circling above with large strong wings reveling in their free and joyful nature! 



Autumn Cheer!

I'm delighted that my Montauk Daisies are in bloom!  It's their first year here and quite a lot of flowers for a first timer! Such a cheerful addition to the autumn garden.

 

Perennial bloomer Nipponanthemum nipponicum, a cousin of the chrysanthemum.

Just for a good chuckle, I had to share this little humerous tidbit - scroll down to the bottom of this site to see these incredible Mammo Grahms .

Autumn is here....

Autumn is here waving it's magic color wand over our landscape. 



Birch Leaves at Ipswich River Sanctuary

Turtle Moon Impressions: Another Share and a word about ego.

Turtle Moon Impressions: Another Share and a word about ego.: I subscribe to an artist's newsletter that I often get too busy to read but today I opened it up and it was so good I wanted to share it...

Another Share and a word about ego.

I subscribe to an artist's newsletter that I often get too busy to read but today I opened it up and it was so good I wanted to share it with other artists out there and those who love an artist too!  It's about what he calls the  "ego force" of an artist."  Here's the post from Robert Genn.

Another share from this summer's LQF, a fabulous art quilt by Betsy Abbott of Andover, MA (please forgive that it's not my best photo but I thought it was still a great quilt to show).  I so love birds in art and this is a very powerful looking old bird!



Wild Ravenworld by Betsy Abbott

 

 

Quilt Highlights

Barbara Barbara Barrick McKie is the artist who created these two exquisite quilts from her own photographs.  These were among the highlights for me at The Lowell Quilt Festival in August. When viewed in person, these pretty much take your breath away!  She has been a computer specialist in graphic arts and has been leading the way with this genre of quilt arts for some time now. 




Feeder Defeater by Barbara Barrick McKie

My Buddy and Me by Barbara Barrick McKie