and I’ll say it again (at least once) . .
”Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican!
His bill holds more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Enough food for a week.
But I’m darned if I know how the helican.”
PS: Mr. and Mrs. Painted Bunting are still hanging out in my palmetto bushes this evening!
BW
CONTEST OVER AND CAROL IS THE WINNER . HERE’S HER PRIZE!!! Aren’t they cute? _______________________________________________________________________________________________ We chowed down on some really good bayou cooking, and then stuffed every available empty spot with amaretto biscotti torte, which my daughter brought. She didn’t get the memo that I had all the fixings for strawberry shortcake, so we…
In the spring of 2010, my email box was inundated with writers looking for the softer side of the story of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and following oil spill disaster. These seekers of a different angle flocked to my bayou to interview my shrimping neighbors. As a wetland advocate, I wondered how I could use this man-made disaster as a platform to further the cause of education and awareness.
It became clear to me early on that most of the journalists who arrived at my door really had no clue about our culture and way of life. So, if they wanted a story about how the oil spill had impacted us, then they must humor me and allow me to educate them about this vanishing ecosystem and its people.
What these well-meaning journalists needed first was a foundational perspective from the standpoint of a population of coastal communities who were suffering yet one more blow to their way of life. As a woman who lives, works, and fishes here, I could give them that perspective, which was simply this:
This oil spill was not an isolated disaster for the people of coastal Louisiana. It was like being kicked when we were already down. And here’s why.
Sunday. The day of rest. Does that include fishing? My daughter and son-in-law came down after church for grilled hamburgers. Rach usually has this awesome naturally curly hair, but in honor of the cold front, she put the flat iron to it. And it always takes me by surprise how much she reminds me of…
It’s that time again. The time you’ve all been waiting for since this same time last week. It’s name this flower time! I swear I just heard about 100 of you giggle with glee. OK, well, I was fantasizing again, but it never hurts to dream big. Here is the flower . . . There…
Open my kitchen drawer and there, nestled among the hot pads, koozies, and clothes pins, you just might see . . . three little plastic babies. And then you would scratch your head like Stan Laurel and do a double take, mentally asking yourself the question, “What in the world are THOSE for?” Unless, of…
Odd jobs. It seems to by my way of life. Neither the wetland tours nor the fishing charters are providing full-time work, so as a freelancer, I’m always open to new assignments.
Saw a blue heron trying to do a pelican move today.
Ended up deeper than its feet.
3 ospreys today. And beezillions of geese.
Cool! I got a closeup of green heron . . . coming soon . . .
When we were in Grand Isle a few weeks ago, we saw something we’d never seen before. Dozens of Pelicans lined up on a power line going through the Marsh. It was a very strange sight. BW, have you ever seen them on power lines?
I do enjoy watching Pelicans feed. I get tickled when they dive. They aren’t the most graceful birds.
Steffi – I have NOT seen them do that. Makes you wonder if the oil spill still has some of them a little “spooked” about where they can land and roost????
I used to think that pelicans weren’t graceful birds but the more I watch them, the more I realized how graceful they really are. They are kind of like ballet dancers with a big nose or something true but love watching them sail over the water.
Lucky you on the painted buntings still hanging around!
Magnificent is the word I use for them!
I love your jingle/poem. How in the world do pelicans balance on power lines with webbed feet? They are webbed, right?
Our birds all seem to have left for the year. I haven’t seen my little doves that came out daily for the cracked pecans I would put on the edge of our side street. And, even the sparrows and blackbirds are scarce. Very unusual. We do have chimney swallows across the street since my chimney is covered with a thick screen. The house next door had 3 humongous chimneys until last month that they nested in. They reroofed and removed those gorgeous chimneys. I had the fun of explaining how Santa was going to bring gifts to anyone over there to the youngest two grandkids. LOL. I am so thankful they don’t know those vent pipes sticking up are part of the whole sewer system.
Wonder where your birds went? I have droves of red-winged black birds at my feeders right now, and hummers still fight over the sugar water every day.
The Hummers must all be headed your way. I haven’t seen any Hummers since Wednesday. Actually, I saw only one on that day. All the Red throats had already left.
Took two boys fishing for the local rodeo today. Fishing again tomorrow so they can hopefully get some fish on the board. When I weighed my “sea cat” in, I knocked the guy out of first place!!! His weighed 3.5 and mine weighed 5.5!!!
We are in full swing with bird migration here in southwest NM. All the summer residents have left and all the winter ones are moving in. I saw my first flock of juncos a few days ago and the flocks of sparrows are here.
Oh think of the slime? Throw the net away? Weather too weird here for good bite 40 deg temp swings.
Geaux Tigers
One of the little towns here has what they call a Pelican Path – statues of pelicans dressed in everything from ship captain uniforms to touristy floral shirts. Just funny, and more appealing than you might think.
I love the pelican poem – it’s one of the first ones my dad taught me, although he misattributed it to Ogden Nash and it took me decades to find out some dude named Dixon Lanier Merritt wrote it. But when I see the first white pelicans wheeling in from the north, it always comes to mind.
There’s one flock of the white that hang out at the edge of Galveston bay where the docks have falled apart – about 50 of them, and one pelican per piling! I just can’t imagine them on wires – neat trick, but it feels painful when I think about it…
So great to see them looking healthy.