Mystery! If you're squeamish, don't read this :)

We have been solving a mystery around here for the past few weeks! First we found clues......
1. Feathers (big ones!) all over the back yard
2. Gigantic bird p**p everywhere the girls play :)
3. A turtle shell.....missing the turtle part
4. The feeling something is watching you ........constantly

What was it? We discovered a HUGE bird had nested right over the girls swing set. Now to figure out what it was. We watched, we took pictures, we discovered 2 babies in the nest that were also huge.....what were they? After our scientist Dad took over we determined we had a mama, and 2 baby RED SHOULDERED HAWKS living amongst us. We watched them feed on small reptiles, lizards, etc. Mama would bring food (live food) to the babies several times daily. The mama hawk even watched our cat intently. (Leni was very worried as she is the resident animal freak). The babies would peer over the nest and watch every action we made. They didn't miss a beat! And then yesterday.......the babies took flight over the house. The nest is now empty. We yet again were able to watch a lesson in God's marvelous creation and best of all........the cat is safe. All rejoice! Enjoy the pictures!