american white pelican
Twofer Tuesday: feathered intrigue
Not a high-quality photo, but there’s some drama and intrigue here:
Barr Lake State Park April 8, 2021
I get the sense these two are working hard at ignoring each other because they’re already acquainted. Like, maybe they’ve had prior run-ins and now carry grudges. Or maybe they’ve never met, but that pelican with the stabby, knobby bill scares the bejesus out of the cormorant and beneath the surface it’s paddling like mad to get away.
Maybe they’re both new in town and too shy to strike up a friendship. Or maybe that cormorant’s haughty tilt of the beak is designed to keep other birds at a distance.
Maybe it’s really a well-choreographed water ballet that’s supposed to make us think these two dancers are on a collision course when really they end up executing an elegant near-miss.
More likely, the photo is just a fun little image from two years ago that makes me nostalgic for that day.
Friday Haiku
Hop skip and a splash
pelican locomotion
nothing fishy here
Each of us, magnificent
Today’s reminder for anyone who needs it: show up as yourself. You are magnificent, warts and all! (Or, in this pelican’s case, bumps that form on the bill during breeding season.)
Barr Lake State Park. April 8, 2021
Remember, when you show up as your magnificent, authentic self, you’ll find your squadron.
Shout-out to all who’ve engaged and connected with me in real life and an online capacity: thank you! ❤️
Twofer Tuesday
I struggled to get out of bed this morning, knowing air quality was abysmal and that temperatures would (again) reach the high 90s. I finally hauled myself upright and for the second run in a row, ran inside on the treadmill. While I’m grateful to have that option, it’s unnerving to run inside during the summer.
I’ve dipped into the photo archives from the days of yore, when wildfire smoke didn’t choke the air and I could spend hours outdoors. Here are two of the many American White Pelicans I saw paddling around at Barr Lake State Park last April:
April 8, 2021
I find them quite stately despite those bumps on their bills. I hope they continue to do well, wherever they are.
Literary inspiration
American White Pelican. May 27, 2021
Without the emotion of the beautiful,
the sublime,
the mysterious,
there is no art,
no religion,
no literature.
~ John Burroughs
Give me pelicans and sunshine
It’s rainy and gray outside, but I’m not complaining. The alternative was a huge snowstorm which, fortunately, the forecasters seem to be walking back. While we do need moisture, rain would be much kinder to the new leaves on trees and shrubs. I don’t want any of them destroyed by a heavy winter snowstorm; the blooming crabapple trees are currently quite lovely.
American White Pelican, Barr Lake State Park. April 8, 2021
So right now I’m content with the rainy-gray as I think back on last month’s pelican-rich day that also happened to be sunny and warm.
Tracy Abell 