Neighbors

 

I think this bird is a cormorant.  I have seen it all week outside my window.  Most of the time, I just see its head like a little snake around the lake, fishing and swimming, I guess.  And, when it's not doing that, the bird sits here, on the water's edge, drying it's wings?  I don't know what it's doing, but that's what it looks like to me, taking a break between dips and feedings, drying off in the sun.  She/he is so beautiful to look at, and I feel so lucky.

A couple weeks ago, there was a giant, and I mean giant, blue heron, on the same shore.  Standing erect for over and hour, just contemplating?  I have no idea, but so peaceful, standing as tall as my chin.  I have never seen such a giant winged creature before.  I didn't take a picture, because it was so breathtaking and unusual, I couldn't dare spoil the moment.

Where I live is so beautiful, but there is so much trash everywhere.  It is so heartbreaking and mind boggling at the same time.  I do not understand the kind of person who drops their crap on the ground and keeps walking or driving or looking away or whatever they are doing.  And then there is everybody else, who just walks on by, with the trash already on the ground.

There are supposedly groundskeepers where I live.  I live in a condo, and I presume its their job to keep the grounds clean.  But they don't.  There is trash everywhere.  And that's not unusual to this community.  There is trash all over the Charleston area.  It kills me.

Anyhow, I've made it my personal duty, even against the snubs I get from others who are put out I guess by my community service (?), who knows what bothers these idiots, to keep the lake clean.  I remove disgusting trash all the time.  Boxes, clothes, plastic, you name it, I've grabbed a stick, hung on to a tree limb, balanced on one leg, to get the trash out of the lake.

I do it because trash is my personal number one pet peeve.  I also do it because I love animals.  And we have turtles and fish, and ducks who live here all year round.  I also love the earth and myself, and of all the problems we face on this planet today, trash seems one we can truly control, and one that is completely unnecessary.  So I do what I can.

Now, in recent weeks, we've had that amazing heron, that spent over a week here, resting on our shores.  And, now, in this past week, this beautiful cormorant.

I feel like it's my prize for the effort I make.  Because they could be anywhere on the lake, and yet they are resting peacefully outside my window.  To me they are saying, "thank you."  To them, I say, "thank you right back."  You are so beautiful.

Here's a smaller heron that arrived a couple days after I initially made this post.  This one is not so unusual in appearance or size, but still a stunning bird, I think.