Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving

Brown Pelicans at Bolsa Chica Wetlands
 
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  In past years' Thanksgiving posts, I've included photos of wild turkeys that I took near Auburn in Northern Cal.   This year, I'm going with the pelicans.  And a little story.    

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November 6 was going to be a big day.   That was the day of Marcia's first Patchwork Indie Arts and Crafts show.  Set in Long Beach, it would be her first outdoor show and we hoped for big things.

Now, small businesses are a labor of love.   Marcia's HomeBody Botanicals is no exception.  And, as small business owners know, their ventures have a way of becoming family affairs.   So, her labor of love has spilled over to the whole family, and, in a way, all four of us have been working the business since it started more than a year ago at the Altadena Urban Farmer's Market.   

So, after a late night doing the final touches, early November 6, we all got up loaded the van and headed south to Long Beach.    Our expectations were high.   But, while driving on the 605, it started to rain.  By the time we reached the Marine Stadium in Long Beach, it was pouring.   The storm had arrived and showed no signs of letting up.

We found our assigned 10 x 10 space -- next to a boat storage area and under a couple of inches of water.  Marcia and I hauled out the deceptively-named "e-z up"  and with our 13 and 8 year olds, we started the set up.  There is simply no way to raise an e-z up in the rain without getting soaked and soon we were all cold and wet from head to toe.   The kids were great -- both helping and game as could be.  Still, midway through set up, our 8 year old broke.   She just stood in the rain and cried.   I could hardly blame her.   

So, that's how our much anticipated big day started.  

But, eventually, things got better.  By afternoon, the sun was out and crowds of people slogged through the fair.  There was music, great food and dozens of vendors, like us, offering homemade crafts and goods.    Really, the Patchworks shows are interesting places and if you haven't gone, you should.

Anyway, when things settled down and dried out, the kids and I spent the afternoon exploring.  We made our way down PCH to Bolsa Chica and walked the trails through.the wetlands.   The variety of birds there is  amazing and, after the rain, the wetlands were teaming with activity.   In particular, it was fun to watch the pelicans as they fished by diving beak first into the water.  

As it happened, we were at the wetlands about an hour before sundown and the light was perfect for photography.   As we walked the foot bridges and trails, we passed many photographers outfitted with big time equipment and scanning the wetlands for pictures.    

I stopped on the footbridge and took my place among a line of folks poised with their tripods and telescopic lenses.  I reached into my sweatshirt pocket and pulled out my little Canon Power Shot.   So there I stood among the tripods. But, you know, this pair of pelicans rose up from the water and soared right by me.  I barely had time to raise my camera and never saw the birds in my viewfinder.   I pointed and clicked and this photo is what I got.   Not a professional shot, but good enough to give me a big smile.

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Marcia's show got better and she made a little money.  In the dark, under clear skies, we packed up, then drove home to Pasadena.       

It had been a long and trying day.   But, we all pulled together and, except for a few hours of cold and wet, had fun doing it.   The kids had jumped in with both feet to help.   We made it home safely where we all slept well.  

Now a few weeks later, the wet and cold is nearly forgotten and only memories of a family adventure remain.  Even the worst of the cold and wet is now somehow funny -- strangely even crying in the rain can get to be funny.   

And, if that's not enough, on top of it all, I have my pelican picture.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

A cautious step forward and a wary eye looking back, this wild turkey is not a bad image for the times. Wary times or not, there is much to be thankful for and it is good to pause and count our blessings. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving Day


Some interesting turkey facts on this Thanksgiving Day.

These are wild turkeys. They are the biggest game birds in North America. Wild turkeys have dark feathers to help them blend in with their surroundings. They eat seeds, berries, acorns and small insects. At night, they evade predators be sleeping on tree branches.

Wild turkeys populate many areas of the country. Seems wild turkeys were also native to the Los Angeles basin. Don't know if any wild turkeys remain here. But, there are wild turkeys in northern California. The flock above was photographed in the Sierra foothills.

None other than Benjamin Franklin championed the turkey for the nation's Great Seal. Dismissing the bald eagle as a scavenger of bad moral temperament. Franklin preferred the turkey because, "though a little vain and silly" it is a "Bird of Courage." I think Franklin more loathed eagles than exalted turkeys. He also made a case for putting a rattlesnake on the Great Seal. More seriously, he quite poignantly proposed a dramatic scene from the Book of Exodus.

Ever wondered how the turkey got named? The Story of How the Unofficial Bird of the United States Got Named After a Middle Eastern Country is an entertaining piece on the MIT website that explores the question. And yes, our word "turkey" was named after the country Turkey.

The turkey on your table this afternoon is a distant cousin to the birds that fed the Pilgrims or which roam wild in the foothills. The National Turkey Federation website describes modern turkey production. Domesticated birds have been bred to maximize breast and thigh meat, can't fly, and have white feathers which don't leave pigment spots when the bird is plucked. The NTF reports that per capita consumption of turkeys in 2009 is estimated to reach 17 pounds. Seems like a lot to me.

All right. Time to get going.