HRH says I'm afraid of Birds

If this is true, then why do I have so many pictures of birds?

She got this outrageous idea eight-years ago when we went to California to move CaDiva to Iowa. I may have mentioned this before, but I talked a lifelong Californian into moving to Iowa. Generally, I alert people to take this as an indication they shouldn't doubt my ability to persuade. I haven't, however, been able to convince HRH I am NOT afraid of birds.

Breakfast with a friend in Best Western at Carmel by the Sea April 2011.

We have a tale we tell that usually takes about 20 minutes if you don't count the interruptions from HRH and CaDiva in their attempts to insert false memories into my story.  We generally title this story The Three Fat Chicks, Gay Guy, Great Dane and a Boat.  But, as usual. I'm starting this blog quite late on a Sunday and I doubt I have the time to tell the entire tale. So I'll pick up somewhere between "Are you eating something?" and "About that time, someone started to hum the theme to Gilligan's Island."

Seagull at Goat Rock Beach, Sonoma County

As you can imagine, CaDiva had a lot of friends in California. And each one of them begged for one last visit before she left so he/she could say goodbye. She had a dear coworker who lived on a man-made lagoon. He wanted her to come to lunch and a quiet boat trip down the Petaluma River and invited HRH and I to join them. In addition to a beautiful harlequin Great Dane, our host and his partner kept an aviary.

This was taken when we were on the Seventeen Mile Drive in Monterrey.

Inside a converted garage they had canaries and a feather-footed pigeon but the backyard and sheltered crawlspace hosted sparrows and other outside winged guests. We were touring inside home of free-flying orange and yellow canaries. We each held a lovely glass of wine, although CaDiva and I had also enjoyed a tasty  cold hors d'oeuvre of hard cheese and carpaccio. HRH, as I may have mentioned before, is not so adventuresome in her palate.  So she was on her second glass of wine on an empty stomach. I mention this only because it could explain her misunderstanding my position in the aviary.

This was the gull who was interested in our Egg McMuffins before we took our whale watching trip.

While I very sensibly kept a close eye on the bits of fluttering color as they attempted to dive-bomb me and my wine glass, HRH stood with her arm extended and glass uncovered, asking questions about the birds and their breeding habits. HRH took the fact that that I occasionally adjusted my head position to avoid in-air collision with the inhabitants of the aviary to mean I was afraid of them.

Off HRH's deck - sometimes you just get lucky.

After the rescue from the lock (I'll tell you about that one another time) I repeatedly attempted to point out that I was covering my glass since the birds didn't have a separate toilet area and ducked my head only to ensure none of them became snared in my magnificent mane of only slightly graying locks. HRH has always been known to have a judgemental streak so she still believes this was me being afraid of birds.

We were promised the best sunset view in the world off this beach on the Oregon Coast.  I haven't  seen them all, but this one has to be right up there.

 

I don't mean to indicate I have no fears. In fact, I have five.

1. Small things that scurry.
2. Sudden stops at the end of free falls.
3. Veins and eye balls.
4. Tall hills (which is actually part of #2 because the car will pinwheel over and over until it makes a sudden stop at the bottom of the hill)
5. Mammalian flying cousins to small things that scurry - which is not the same as a bird. (I'll tell you one time about the day I had to call in bat to work.)

Coming in for a landing in along the coast in Oregon.

I could hear them for a half mile, "This way, over there...I see a restaurant."

I would like to believe this is a Condor but I know it is over the Grand Canyon.

But I am not afraid of birds. While I'll never go birding like our good friends in California. I will make every effort grab other great pictures of birds I have captured over the years. I have a long winter coming and a lot of disks, thumb drives, and boxes of pictures I need to snag and put into one place. When I get those pictures I'll add them under this label. 

Another picture from outside HRH's house.

 As I have always said at work, I only steal from the very best. But I'll keep the pictures of birds I post to ones taken by HRH, CaDiva, The Daughter, and me. I hope you enjoy them.

Cardinal at HRH's bird feeder.

Same bird feeder - different season.

HRH got this one outside her house.

This pushy fellow stalked the picnic lunches up and down the beach  at Bodega Bay.