Pelican talents continued....

So today's news includes the story of Ralph the Pelican, proving that our feathered friends are more than just precise weather predictors.

They have a sense of fun, and love of travel, as well as the risque.  For more here the link to the story is below.

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/strange/article_212348565.shtml

And in addition to all that, they are some of the most beautiful birds in flight that I've seen.  Their flying formations change, in a way that can only be described as balletic, swooping and dipping in flight, and morphing from a V, to an S, and back.

How something which appears so non-aerodynamic, can fly so gracefully, and so well in formation, is a mystery to me......

Clearly, they do not worry about the idea that functionally a bird with that body type should not be a graceful flyer........nor do they let the reality of their less than ideal aerodynamic design stop them from providing poetry in the sky.......

Definitions......

So after multiple downsizings over the past number of years, I have learned to live in a somewhat humble fashion, which includes doing laundry in the apartment laundry room.  To encourage myself, I have this plaque in my living room.

Shortly after I bought it, I realized that one of my favorite neighbors had a doormat that said, "Simplify Life".

All these things made sense, given our lifestyle.

Today however, I became quite confused when I saw this car, in the parking lot of our most upscale shopping area.

In case the car isn't immediately recognizable (perhaps more difficult if you live simply), it is a Porsche Carrera 4 Convertible with a MSRP of  around $100,000......

I'm  thinking one of us isn't in touch with reality..........

My new weather forecasting experts

So a little over two weeks ago we had weather with temps in the 70's.  The week before we had had some snow predicted, and got a little bit.  The night before the snow, I went walking and took my first pictures of "Pelican Island", and the pelicans in flight.  They seemed quite happy on their sandbar, with the approaching snow, and evidently stayed put through the cold, and into the next week.

That next week with the 70 degree temperatures, I went out and took more pictures of the pelicans.   On Sunday of that week, the temp had dropped into the low 40s and high 30s in the afternoon (24 hours from the 70 degrees), and I went to check out the pelicans.  They were gone, no sign of them, totally disappeared in 24 hours.   Snow was predicted for about 36 hours later, and I started thinking 'uh oh', if the pelicans have completely disappeared, what are we in for?

The answer was the largest single snow fall in the city's history.   It was quite shocking for everyone in terms of the impact on travel and the city, and we just now received more snow, although not nearly as much.

Also as is typical, when the roads were still treacherous with snow, and ice, there were many people out on the river paths, which had (priorities and all) been plowed, unlike the streets.

But today, the sun is starting to peek through the clouds, and this weekend promises temps in the 50's, which is much more typical of our weather....snow one day, shorts and t-shirts the next.

From here on out though, I'm listening to the pelicans to determine when to worry about snow, and when to not!