She hangs there, upside down, eyes fixed on me as I open the gate and ease into the garden. I leave it open behind me, a portal to the wild air I hope will call to her. As I draw near, she unclamps her talons from the netting and explodes out of the corner.
She bumps against the overhanging net, this oddly constrained sky, and latches on again. I try to herd her to the open gate, but she's not having it. The yellow toes, tipped with tiny scimitars, cling even tighter. The sharp eyes, bright and lucid, do not blink. The beak -- that deadly instrument -- gleams and menaces.
I have to get her out, but how? How, exactly, does one extract a wild peregrine from one's tomato garden without either party being wounded? Bird netting is supposed to keep birds out, not in, but here we are. "Bees," I remember suddenly: my long-cuffed goatskin beekeeper's gloves are just the thing. I fetch them from the house and slip them on, feeling anxious, desperate and hopeful. Somehow, I have to manage this.
She lets me get right next to her, eyeing me intently but without complaint. I stand still for a moment, then reach out both hands and cup her body gently. The heart beats at the speed of light -- hers and mine alike -- and I feel her anger, fear and hope. With one hand, I softly stroke her back and head, and tell her it will be alright.
We stand like that for several minutes. Gradually, the toes begin to uncurl, and I pull her free of the netting. Her wings quiver once, twice, and I hustle to the open gate, hands full of impatient, flapping falcon. At the threshold I open them, arms high. She soars away, without looking back.