A Hawk -- but no Birdies -- today at the Northfield Country Club

Watching like a hawk. . .

You don't go golfing with Greg Johnson without noticing the birds.
Daughter Jennifer's birthday gift to Stan was a round of golf for two at the Northfield Country Club. Greg and Stan set out on the hottest day of the summer this morning for an 11 a.m tee time, gift card in  hand.
Lush, well-groomed surroundings and a soft cooling breeze made for an enjoyable round today on this vintage 1926 course, since enlarged and updated. A meandering creek runs through stands of mature trees, crossed time and again by iron bridges, reminiscent of an industrial era when metal structures were commonplace, easily obtained and installed.

The Bridges of Rice County, crossing and re-crossing the creek.

There's a sweet little Par 3 on the back side where Greg had just chipped on, when out of the corner of his eye a hawk darted in, then lifted up to the nearby trees. "Red
Tail Hawk," Greg called out automatically, before bending over his putter.
Our work on the green complete, we turned our attention to the hawk, who was still observing our trespass through his verdant domain. We settled the cart onto a bridge deck and zoomed in for a portrait. As we looked closer, Greg backed off on his initial identification, now not so sure it's a Red Tail.
(So Greg, here's your closeup view. What have we got here? It could be a juvenile, with somewhat different markings from the adult. Follow this link if you're curious.)
On our way home we stopped at Northfield's Just Foods for a healthy snack, a hug, introductions and, of course, a thank you to the day's sponsor. Our grocer daughter was busy with store stuff, but we had enough time to cool off and catch up a bit.
It was a wonderful day. As for the ubiquitous "dangerous tropical" heat warnings? Hardly noticed. It's just great having a summer again.

Stan, Jennifer and Greg in The Just Foods Co-op where Jennifer was Just Finishing her day's work.