Who Is Rose Otel?

All  winter long I've been watching red-tailed hawks soar past the windows of my 20th floor condo. They always seemed to be on the prowl for pigeon, then suddenly their daily fly-bys stopped in mid-March.

'What gives?' I said to myself. What I've discovered is that the hawks are now focusing their efforts on nest building and the accompanying sexcapades. I've caught them in the act, though not on digital film (hawk porn).

In this picture a hawk is building a nest on the letter 'L' of the Rose Otel building (which is actually the Primrose Hotel, Carlton/Jarvis streets). It's a spectacularly inaccessible location for anything but a hawk, Spiderman, or a daring Dobbelstyn in a cherry picker. The sign is at least 20 stories high (I can only count to four these days so I'm not sure of the exact height). It overlooks Allan Gardens. That's the park which is home to the elaborate greenhouses that were a favourite of my visiting in-laws. A favourite of mine, too. The park is home to hawk-worthy prey such as: pigeons, squirrels, dogs, dog owners, bums (often also dog owners), and at least one rat.

Has there ever been just one rat in any location? Hell, even in the boardroom of Conrad Black's Hollinger Inc. there was more than one rat. I suspect the rats come out at night to clean up whatever the pigeons and bums can't finish during the day. I suspect there are rats at Conrad's house too. Day old caviar is still caviar.