Mondays are for the Birds

I think we can all agree that Mondays are for the birds. Whether we're just coming off of a week out of the office or just a weekend! So I thought I'd share some wings from the West Coast.

First of all, the big bird above. I could not believe how close we were hovering over the ocean as we approached SFO – the San Francisco airport! The runways are literally mere feet from sharks! Uff da. 

Next came the birds of Alcatraz. There literally is exhibit space dedicated to the many many feathered friends on the island!

They even have seabird nesting areas during certain seasons of the year. All I know is we saw a lot of "crap" around.

I wasn't sure if these two were imitating a prison fight or just love birds. I felt guilty watching.

I can safely say they left no outdoor area untouched. All with white, streaky evidence as proof!

They photo bombed my pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge from Alcatraz Island.

But I was OK with that! 

Back on land, these pelicans were lined up to torture the sea lions. 

I wondered if they also flew over to Alcatraz on occasion to stir up a ruckus with the island natives!

Back in the city, this bird enjoyed the fountains at Yerba Buena Gardens (where our food trucks lined up for lunch) as if it were his personal, oversized bird bath!

And of course, one more feathered friend! You can't have a marketing conference without an inflatable rubber duck costume, can you? I didn't stop him to ask any questions. Just moved along and wondered how lucky (or not) I was to be in this industry!

At least it got me through Monday!

Just Ducky

As it happened, I was checking out a bunch of my senior portrait locations yesterday and I happened upon this flock.

My first instinct was to laugh. Because I pictured how my sisters and me – the Hen House – must look when we're "conversing."

But then they all turned toward me and my first thought was "They're going to attack me or, at a minimum, hiss at me!" My second thought was, "Wow! They're all in a row!"

It's so funny that we all hold ourselves to the standard that we should have our "ducks in a row." Most times, I'm guessing, we might see our ducks but have no idea what to do with them! Thankfully, these guys (or ladies) didn't come after me.

Instead, they picked up a new friend and headed in the opposite direction! If you're like me, sometimes we need these signs that we can find a better place if we switch directions.

Or pause and realize that sometimes, nature is a "silly goose" or duck! 

What feels natural to you? What makes you laugh unabashedly at the absurd moment? What makes you want to follow "your" ducks even if they're headed in the wrong direction?

Just praying we all get our ducks in a row at some point!

Just Ducky

As far as spring days go, today was just ducky! We've had a slight warming trend this week. Thankfully, since I had to wear a winter coat Monday to shoot softball pictures and graduated to a mere sweatshirt for baseball pictures Tuesday.

Today would've been a perfect day to do anything outside. But there's no sports on Wednesdays. Oh, and I had to work. Still, a handful of us took a walk at lunchtime just to soak in the sunshine and pleasant temperatures.

We passed by a small pond on our work property and saw this pair of ducks. I was pretty jealous until they reminded me they live outdoors on the cold days, too!

Speaking of things that are just ducky... My sister finally moved out of ICU and is in a somewhat regular room on their surgical and trauma floor. She tends to move 2 steps forward and 1 step back, but that's progress. So we thank God – and all your prayers – for that.

P.S. Don't let the weather determine your happiness. We do live in Wisconsin (or Minnesota) after all! Find your "just ducky" moment every day!

The Adventures of Harriet the Duck

If you've never had your ducks in a row, as the saying goes, you'll appreciate this story. We had some excitement in our neighborhood when it seemed a bald eagle had descended on Election Day. How patriotic, right?

Upon closer inspection though, it was actually a duck. Not a goose on the loose. But a duck.

One neighbor and I got pretty close to it yesterday afternoon and he said it was a domestic duck. As in someone's pet? Yep.  So I snapped a photo (of course) and showed it the farm lady around the bend. Without hesitation she said, "That's a Muscovy duck! But she's not ours." 

She? I don't know how you can tell the difference and I probably don't want to know. So I shared the picture on Facebook in case any neighbors knew her or her owners. No luck.

I kind of forgot about her because I didn't see her on my noon walk today. But sure enough, this afternoon she was sitting in our front yard. After she had flown (witnesses say) from our back yard to the dog yard next door, then over to our non-dog yard. (Even though I learned later she lives with dogs.)

She let me get close enough take pictures of her and her beautiful feathers. This time I posted the picture on the "nosy site" on Facebook – as in the Wood County scanner followers page. Didn't even know if it was the right forum but I've seen people share "lost dog" photos on there so why not a "lost duck"?

It worked! In about half an hour's time, more than 60 people had shared it out and the owners saw it and contacted me.

Turns out a fox surprised Harriet (best duck name ever) and her duck sister on Monday. Sadly, the fox got the other girl, but Harriet escaped through the woods and headed west. She bypassed Little Red Ridinghood's Grandmother's house and skirted around Hansel and Gretl's candy cottage to get to our yard on the other side of the woods. But she made it. And made the rounds waddling around our subdivision for almost 3 days.

Thankfully she perched on the next-door neighbor's deck after the sun when down so when the owners got here, they could find her and get her. They were ecstatic. She was happy to see them, too, and get her treats! Yes, just like any other pet. 

Her owners had happy tears. They said it was sad to lose the other duck and think they lost Harriet, too. So relieved! And they said Harriet's man at home was extremely distraught. Good thing Harriet was heading back. I've since learned Muscovy ducks don't mate for life so who knows who long he would have waited until he moved on?! Men!

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us, Harriet! Pretty cool that in less than 50 minutes, we went from social media post to happy reunion. Who couldn't use a happy-ending fairy tale like that this week?