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The snow is down to 9 1/2 inches between the front door and herb garden.  But in the yard, where the sun shines the brightest, patches of grass show through.  Jake and Porter were pestering the Norway spruce with shuriken, and in their search for a ricochet they found a dead hawk under the rhododendron.   It was a red-tailed, the carcass pristine and undamaged - a magnificent animal.  Maybe in the confusion of wind it struck a branch and broke its neck - or maybe it ate a poisoned mouse - or maybe it was West Nile virus.  They boys carried it off into the woods.

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