Boo . . . Hiss. Cormorants. Nasty Bird. Or so I would estimate the sentiments of the majority of people. But one thing you have to grant the Cormorant. They are grand posers! I captured this Cormorant in what I consider to be a stunning pose. Wings outstretched. Rising up out of water that suggests inky darkness. Another version of the Rising Phoenix? Or perhaps, a representation of a Black Swan event? I don’t know.
What I do know is I’m drawn to this image. There is something about it that causes me pause to reflect. We’ve all had off days. Maybe this is a representation of an off day or maybe it’s just a fish-gulping bird that kills foliage with its alkali droppings. Cormorants nest in colonies and will do so in trees. The trees are overwhelmed by the droppings and die. These are certainly things folks don’t appreciate about Cormorants.
Like it or not, Cormorants are here to stay
However much we may harbor disdain for this bird, they are part of the landscape here in West Central Minnesota as they are in many regions of the Country. The original ‘dirty bird’? Possibly.
Still, I like this photo. Apart from the pose, the feature I find most striking is the turquoise blue eye. Isn’t that wild?
Oh, and by the way, I didn’t get to take a shot of the full moon last night. Overcast skies prohibited the viewing of the moon. Well, there is always next month!
Consider this: Is it possible the Cormorant serves some benefit by reducing the number of small fish in a lake overrun with thousands of tiny Sunnies and Perch? Yeah, I didn’t think you would buy that.
Something other than Cormorants
OK, let’s talk about something else.
Growing up, I remember going to my Grandparents to stay over Christmas Vacation. They worked in a small town hardware store that pretty much had everything from kitchen dishes to hog feeders to blasting caps. I think they had the dynamite to go with the blasting caps as well. It was a cool place!
I remember we had a large field rock that needed removal on our farm. Grandpa came up with a little dynamite and took care of that rock. That was incredible! BIG boom! It takes experience and skill to set a charge correctly. Bad things can happen if you don’t.
The hardware store
Getting back to the hardware store, we (my Brother and I) helped with inventory every year. We counted everything. It was great fun. In the summertime when we stayed for a week with the Grandparents, we would build hog feeders by day and fish in the early evenings. Grandpa would rent a boat at one of the local lakes and we would catch Sunnies and Bullheads. They all came home with us. Grandma knew how to fry up a Bullhead and make it mighty tasty. Great memories.
And then there were the Malted Milks Grandma made. Wow! Never had one like it since. They were special people.
One more try for the Cormorants
I’m curious, getting back to the Cormorant photo. Does anyone else see the beauty of this image. Drop a comment if you do – or don’t. I’d be interested in hearing your views.
(Just looking out the window and I can see the full moon! it is partially obscured by snow covered oak limbs and branches but it would make for an interesting photograph. There is so much to photograph. So many moments.)
One more rally for the Cormorant! This is a ‘did you know’ moment. Did you know Cormorants have very little preening oil compared to other birds? It makes them far less buoyant and necessitates drying their wings in place of oiling them. Hence, the posing. One advantage this gives them is they are excellent swimmers and divers. Very agile and nearly snake-lime underwater with their long necks and lender bodies. Kind of prehistoric. Kind of creepy.
OK. I tried to lift the Cormorant into higher light. I don’t think anyone is buying it. Fine. We’ll just move on to the next blog. I’ll try to redeem myself. Maybe it will be about kittens or butterflies or puppies. Who knows!
Time spent with Grandparents
I’d say the highlight of this blog post was the time spent with my Grandparents. Grandparents are special people – and missed terribly when they are gone. But we have fine memories. Memories to savor. Memories to take us back to those days of the Sears Roebuck Christmas Catalog, making lefse, playing cribbage with Grandpa, playing Canasta with Grandma, watching their Aluminum Christmas tree dance in the four color turning disk. Special times. Hold on to your memories. And if you’re fortunate enough to still have your Grandparents, let them know they’re loved. The memories we create enrich the lives we live. And an enriched life is a content life. A content life is filled with Peace.
