Sandhill cranes are the most comical birds I know. They make a horrendous racket while flying over head, sounding like an old married couple that can't agree on anything. Some of you are saying," Oh yeah, like you guys." No a lot noisier and disagreeable than that.
They have been spending more time in our back yard recently; maybe it's the seeds spilled out onto our lawn by the cardinals when they eat from our bird feeder. Maybe we have an infestation of some bugs I don't know about. I don't really know, but it seems like they are hanging around a lot because they know that I appreciate seeing them here.
Yesterday I was sitting out on the lanai all ready with my paint supplies, waiting for some inspiration to come along. And along they came. A pair making their usual loud din until they settled down to check out the weedy grass. One stood there for the longest time, allowing me to study him carefully and trying to burn every detail of his appearance into my brain before he moved away. He stood there stark still as if to say,"Hey, can you capture my photogenic side if I stand like this for you?"
After realizing, finally, that the only way to really capture that perfect pose was to take an actual photo, I rushed in to get my camera. That seemed to be the signal to him to move on. "Look, Lady enough is enough. If you can't get it down by now, then you're hopeless," he seemed to say. "I've got better things to do with my time than pose for you."
I can't blame his impatience, the way I was talking to him demanding that he turn this way and that. It must have been the limit for him when he struck that really cute pose with one leg tucked up and his wing feathers stretched out and I told him to hold it just like that. Even funny, noisy sandhill cranes have their serious side.
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