I believe this is a dark morph Rough-Legged Hawk, but my id skills on birds are not great, so I'm open to being corrected. Either way, it was really cool to get to watch one take off directly towards me since they almost always fly away the opposite direction. He apparently was focused on a mouse that was behind me, and I just wasn't fast enough with the camera to follow him as he rocketed by me, hit the ground, and came up with a meal!<br /><br />*******************************************************************<br /><br />New here? Hello! I'm Ariel. I live off grid in a tiny house (yes, one of those only 170 square feet and on wheels kind) in the western mountains of Wyoming. I split my own wood for heat, carry my water by hand, and attempt to grow as much of my own food as I can between the weather and wildlife here. Check out my many tiny house videos, like this one, (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U53EnSVKLQ" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U53EnSVKLQ</a>) also on this channel if you are interested in more about that. <br /><br />I enjoy the stunning sceanery and wildlife that I am surrounded by on a daily basis. As a child, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend much of my free time exploring and playing in the woods. Little has changed now that I'm older I suppose. I moved to a place with a bigger woods and still enjoy spending my time outside hiking, exploring, and photographing the natural world around me.<br /><br />Photography fascinates me. It is almost like a time machine, allowing a fraction of a moment in time to be frozen and shared later. Things that only last seconds or less, like a rainbow, relationships between people, the sunrise or sunset light that is constantly changing, or those fleeting interactions with wild things. It also creates a visual journal of my life. For me, photography is a mostly self taught hobby with the assistance of some very skilled friends. <br /><br />As the eldest of seven children who grew up in a homeschooling family I had the opportunity, not always appreciated at the time, to learn to do quite a bit of work. I've enjoyed a wide range of jobs, everything from greenhouses and flower arranging to wilderness therapy with teens, to milking cows. Mostly, I enjoy doing the kinds of things that I think provide a real service or value to others. Some of my other hobbies include backpacking, hosting people, cooking, preserving food, anything to do with nutrition, Crossfit, skiing, bouldering, reading, journalling, and sitting around a fire and talking to my close friends. But photography is certainly one of my hobbies that gives me a great deal of pleasure. And sometimes, in between shooting photos, I take a few videos of the beauty I encounter as well. <br /><br />For more of my photography follow me on Facebook at facebook.com/ArielCelestePhotography.<br /><br />Or to order prints or photo gifts please visit ArielCel<br />...<br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9ktXaUhRSM" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9ktXaUhRSM</a>