Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Pigeons on a Wire

Is tonight (Tuesday) a full moon? I wonder if that was taken into account in setting an election date.
Or was it last night?
I guess I will google later to find out for sure, but either way, gave me an excuse to spend some time in the back yard admiring the sky. I suppose some might say it could explain my odd behavior. I stopped on the way to work to take these trees on 8th avenue this morning. The center one and the one to its left struck me, because of the two very different but harmonious shades. The contrast didn't come through as much as I expected in the picture, but here it is. Quite an effort to get it, too. Rode right by this morning, but then had to stop and come back. It's always like that, as though I'm being pulled by a force stronger than me. And the only way to get the two trees against each other was to stand in the middle of the road. Motorists and cyclists coming by were characteristically kind. Seems this aging process has certain privileges.
I stopped again, a few blocks before Cypress. Have to confess, not only do I love crows, but I'm very fond of pigeons too. In 1992, I returned home from five years teaching in the Maritimes (2 in Grand Falls, NB, and 3 in Bridgewater, NS) to attend university in Montreal. Quite the experience being a mature student, and having to adapt to a whole new world of computers. I hadn't even learned to type, doing my music degree at McGill in the 60's. Papers were hand written. Now, I was doing a lit degree at Concordia. I lived in a little apartment (with my dog, Scott) that looked out on a downtown lane. There were several pigeons and squirrels that used to come to my balcony, and I soon began supplying them with seeds and nuts. One pigeon had a sort of deformed foot, and it became almost a pet. So, a long story to explain my pigeons-on-a-wire photos this morning. I was again forced into the center of the road, and again, not even once, did anyone honk or make a face at me. In fact, they slowed, and seemed almost encouraging. (Maybe it was the full moon.)
This second one has the exact same birds in it as the pic above, but a few have changed position. I enjoyed, for some reason, checking on each one to make the comparison from photo 1 to photo 2. (I told you.. the moon.)
I think they must have been cold. A lot of headless pigeons today. And the one on the left was depressed. I'm sure of it.
Do you think this tilter was missing a foot, or was it tucked under? I know a lot of pigeons are injured in roofing materials. The other two seemed embarrassed to look.
One crow arrived. The pigeons seemed to ignore it...
... but a couple of minutes later, they flew away...
...except for this one.
And a close-up of this last one. Independent soul, or loner? Maybe, tired? I'll think about it for a while. I always do, when one of a flock/group stands out.
A quick trip to The Wicked, and this perfect latte pattern seemed even more exquisite than usual. No more stops after that until school. Not late, and a good day. Hope yours was too.

3 comments:

  1. Yes, it was full last night. Though of you last week when David and I crossed the Abbotsford/Mission highway to see rows upon rows of crows stacked neatly into the hydro wires. Very pretty.

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  2. I noticed the full moon! I thought of you yesterday (and your excellent camera skills) when I stopped in at Stanley park, looking for some peace of mind. What's the name of that rock stack which is just past 3rd Beach? Anyways, perched on top of it was a crow - I thought Ah, Carol would like that.

    And below the crow was a cormorant - I've been seeing lots of them lately, and quite enjoyed your photos of some a bit ago.

    Perched just above the crow, a lonely pigeon (or was it a seagull? I'm getting forgetful)

    And you won't believe it - hidden in the tree, the ONLY tree on the top of that rock, was a beautiful blue heron!

    So 4 birds posed perfectly in 1 tree. If only I had had a camera with me... then I'd really know what kind the 3rd bird was :-)

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  3. Thanks, dp and mali. I love it that this little blog generated two crow moments.

    Stacked neatly, dp, is a potent image:)

    Wow, Mali - four different birds in one tree! Quite a gift. Thanks for describing it so eloquently. Very surprised about the blue heron. I thought they were all gone. I wonder if they're closer than I realized. Will have to go looking.

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