Wednesday 22 December 2010

22: Turtle doves

Advent day 22 has landed, after circling around The Gallery (thank you Tara at Sticky Fingers).
Joined at the lip. 
Birds, like fish, tend to be aggressive jerks when it comes to dating. You couldn't, for instance, bring a mallard drake home to meet your mum. But a handfuldoves, robins swans, eaglesform couples.

I identify with swans. Mostly because they are grumpy. They are also territorial, belligerent, structurally incapable of being useful before noon, and mostly useless after that. They are defensive, nest-proud, and they shout at anyone who looks sideways at their kids. They eat all manner of murky pond gunk, and appear to communicate through a series of honking and farting noises. 
Muddling through the pond-scum of life together. 
But swans are also graceful, deliberate, unflappable. They are loyal unto exhaustion and they love unfailingly for life, only opening their wings wider to allow for ugly ducklings. Which is to say, swans also remind me so very much of my other half, Papa. 

A strand of three (or four) is not easily broken.

12 comments:

  1. Wow, gorgeous! I love the light in this picture! x

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  2. What a perfect take on the theme! I love the fact that they have strong personalities despite their outer appearance of calm and elegance!

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  3. lovely photos and a wonderful take on the theme.
    Happy Christmas x

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  4. Great picture and fascinating concept too.

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  5. You write so beautifully, totally captured me with the swan tale

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  6. Thanks guys, happy holidays to you and yours!

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  7. Lovely photos. Oooo, I've never likened myself to a swan before but you've made me think. Thanks. :D

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  8. I love swans - from afar. Up close is a different matter. Hmm, that's an interesting concept too. I love the swan pic - swimming in perfect harmony.

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  9. I really like the photos, and the writing!

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  10. what a gorgeous photo and a fabulous post. love it :)

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  11. Beautiful photo, a beautiful analogy beautifully written.

    Personally tho' I'd go for albatrosses or penguins :)

    JallieDaddy

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  12. Thanks guys, and a fair point JallieDaddy--pigeons and dodos were also in the running...

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