I've been going up and down and up and down just taking in all your lovely flowers. The garden shots are great, since there is so much green in addition to the flower colors. Those of us in the no-rain zones are pretty tired of burned out brown. I do love all of them but I'll just mention Dancing With Sandra, Late Round, and Pinhill Claret Symphony. Hope there are still more late bloomers to come. I'll be watching. Avedon

When I end up moving out there I will have a cat in tow. I'm not overly fond of it, but would hate to see it meet with that kind of end. So I was curious and found this on a raptor site. Based on this I'd say a 15 pound kitty is pretty safe. Here's what they say: Will a raptor attack my dog or cat? Raptors are wild animals and need to hunt their own food in order to survive. Even though they are predators, typically they will not hunt something that is larger than they are. They target what is most abundant and easiest to catch. Most raptors can carry only two thirds of their body weight. The average red-tailed hawk or great horned owl only weighs 2-3 pounds. However, there are isolated instances when a raptor cannot find enough food within its territory or is a young inexperienced hunter. In these cases, it would not be unheard of for a larger raptor like a red-tailed hawk or great horned owl to turn to small, domestic animals if the opportunity arises. However, cats and dogs will bite and claw to defend themselves, and are therefore more difficult to safely catch. Most raptors after the first attempt will leave them alone, making attacks uncommon.

Hi, This is a Cooper Hawk. Nice picture. Luc Tremblay Quebec, Canada.

Not pleasant. Found one in my yard a while ago. Looked like it had been hit by a grenade. Some deaths are caused by other species of hawks wiping out the competition. I can take that better than I can the notorious cats.