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It’s tempting to say my morning was for the birds, but that would give you the wrong impression. It’s more like my morning was with the birds. An excellent morning, actually, swimming among seagulls – and a smattering of pelicans as well. There was even a large black bird flying nearby that I took for a cormorant, though I wasn’t sure. I arrived at the sea a little after 8:30 a.m., as sunshine sprayed through pillowy blue and white cloudbanks. The seagulls already were clustering along the shore, doing their seagull thing. Mostly standing around staring. As I waded into the ocean, they scattered and disappeared. Briefly.
I was alone off my small section of the Fort Lauderdale beach, swimming enthusiastically at times, floating lazily at others, taking in the view of sunshine and panoramic clouds. Then the seagulls returned. All of them, and more. For some reason, they were especially active today. Squawking and flapping in groups, they darted along the shoreline, fought over fish, swooped low above my head and then bobbed in the waves very close to me. They came and went so often that I actually began to feel as if we really were swimming together somehow. Or maybe they were only hungry enough to ignore me as if I were just part of the seascape. Some pelicans ignored me too, skimming the water in their own search for something that resembled breakfast.
I stayed in the ocean for more than a half hour, I’m sure, enjoying the company of my morning acquaintances and feeling the persistent light breeze as it dried and cooled my face. It all felt very peaceful out there to me, paddling with the birds as the tide came in slowly and the waves built and gently crashed for a short time before the sea cycled back flat again. This morning was one of those little moments when I had to stop and think to myself, “Ah, this is why I live in Fort Lauderdale.”
I was alone off my small section of the Fort Lauderdale beach, swimming enthusiastically at times, floating lazily at others, taking in the view of sunshine and panoramic clouds. Then the seagulls returned. All of them, and more. For some reason, they were especially active today. Squawking and flapping in groups, they darted along the shoreline, fought over fish, swooped low above my head and then bobbed in the waves very close to me. They came and went so often that I actually began to feel as if we really were swimming together somehow. Or maybe they were only hungry enough to ignore me as if I were just part of the seascape. Some pelicans ignored me too, skimming the water in their own search for something that resembled breakfast.
I stayed in the ocean for more than a half hour, I’m sure, enjoying the company of my morning acquaintances and feeling the persistent light breeze as it dried and cooled my face. It all felt very peaceful out there to me, paddling with the birds as the tide came in slowly and the waves built and gently crashed for a short time before the sea cycled back flat again. This morning was one of those little moments when I had to stop and think to myself, “Ah, this is why I live in Fort Lauderdale.”
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 10:44 AM
As a snow bird I often visit this site and look at the beach through the web cam.......Then I show up around the first of the year and it's as if I've been here all along. Your comments adds a human touch to the cyber experience.
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