Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Friday, January 31, 2014

Bird with Twisted Foot

 I'm slowly learning the secret of people who love the ocean. It involves spending enough time being there to 'walk in its shoes' (sandy shoes, but shoes none the less.). It's about the repetition of sounds and the beauty of birds. It's about the light that you only see at the end of the land.
 Even Carl took notice and had to say something about it all.
We left Bogega Bay on Thursday, last week. We said goodbye to our friends and headed south.

We drove to Dillon's Beach and they returned to the mountains. We spend four days eating good food, driving up the coast, going to art galleries and tourist traps, walking dogs and generally having a good time. We ate lunch at the TIDES restaurant which was surprisingly good but very expensive. It looks very different that it did in the Hitchcock movie called THE BIRDS...but nothing caught fire and no birds attacked us.
The Prospector has been waiting for clam chowder for quite some time and it sounded really good with a salad... so we both had some. It came in a small, scooped out loaf of really good french bread. It was delicious.
We had a good laugh at a seagull who invited itself to lunch with us. We saw him through the window.
 Poor, beautiful, starving bird... he just sat and stared.
 and then, he really putting on a show for us...He posed. He smiled and did a little seagull dance.
The window didn't open, so all his efforts were in vain... but he was great entertainment for us while we ate. He stayed there during our lunch and left as soon as we got up to leave. Sorry bird.
I learned, from my jewelry making friend while we were still in Bodega Bay, how to do Kumihimo. Do you know what this is? It's an interesting way to make cords for jewelry. (I will do a post on it later.)

So, like I said, we drove down to Dillon Beach and into Lawson's Landing, at the entrance to Tomales Bay. We went from full hookups to Desolation Valley.
We went from clean bathrooms with hot water, heaters, lots of company and other RVer's, dog play yards and tall trees and the 49er game ( I didn't mean to mention that. Sorry)... to pit toilets and NOBODY. It was a bit of a let down, even though I had been here once before.
I remembered thinking about that popular Albert Einstein saying , "Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." We had no car. This was a long way from Dillon's beach or any other place. It's kind of a rundown... no... let's be honest...UGLY campground. We had been here before... and here we were again.
But the Prospector said that it was the best way to try out all the bells and whistles on the RV with the generator...and besides... he didn't buy all the "crabbing stuff " to have it sit in the garage at home.  No crabs in Jackson, CA.
So we stabilized our "home away from home", took the dogs for a walk and then I watched some sea gulls doing what seagulls do.
Fly

Bully each other
 Steal stuff.


Gang up...
and terrorize others.
(Kind of reminded me of some humans.)

Then...
I saw this old seagull, who was kind of separated from the others. It was hanging near the seawall just on the other side of our "campsite".
It had the look of wisdom and experience. It was facing into the wind rather boldly. 
By evening, the seagull was still there. That's when I decided to give it a name. I would call it 'Bird with twisted foot'. His left foot was always turned in and bent a little. This didn't seem to restrict his ability to get around or fly, but it gave him the sympathy factor and it worked. I wanted to take him home with me.
 He was a seagull with a story. I could tell that his eyes had seen many things.
 It turns out that this must have been his spot, because he was there the whole time we were there. He would leave and fly to different places, but he always come back to his place near the wall, in front of our RV.

He was a bird apart.
 He had personality and eye contact.
 I would learn to love this desolate and wild place where the bay meets the ocean. I would find out why this bird choose me to communicate with and what it had to say.
'Bird with twisted foot' was going to teach me something.
All I had to do was listen.



9 comments:

  1. glad you learned to love it...it sounds like a cool place...and your bird friend sounds cool as well....i like the action shots of the birds....and i love the repetition of the waves....

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  2. A Bird Apart. Sounds like some people I know. Sounds like me! You've got my interest. What did he tell you?

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  3. I love your compassionate heart and the spirit that says everything has a story to tell. I agree, if we'd only listen. Love Bodega Bay, we used to stay with friends there and it was such a beautiful, restful place. Glad you are home safe.

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  4. Beautifully told and great pictures. Have a blessed day. Madeline

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  5. What a fun post; loved reading it. Exploring these areas sounds so fun. I like the way you made collages of the photos. You really caught the birds in all their usual activities and moods. Very cleverly done. Plus, who couldn't enjoy what you saw in Mr. Twisted Foot. He does look like a wise ol' boy. The RV must have passed the test, eh?

    Yes, I have watched a demonstration on how to make Kumihimo jewelry, but I haven't done it myself.

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  6. Great photos, particularly those of the birds and the wise old gull.
    I live beside the sea and find it hard to imagine living elsewhere.
    Although with high tides and storms battering Ireland at the moment, we were thankfully to escape the floods which have hit other areas

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  7. Beautiful post as usual. Magnificent photo of Carl.
    Now, down to the REALLY important stuff.
    You left me hanging . . . . . did you get any crabs?????
    Luv ya ~Dawn

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  8. I love reading your posts, Connie.

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