Discussing Silly Birds and Smiles

An tricolor heron, Egretta tricolor , feeds in the shallow water on the edge of Upper Lake Myakka in Myakka River State Park in southwestern Florida. This bird is also known as a Louisiana Heron. Copyright by WyoJones. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

“There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people…Religion, Politics, and The Great Pumpkin.” Charles M. Schulz.

One should never argue with Charles M. Schulz or Linus. So I thought I would talk about….flamingoes, funny birds in general, and possibly some other things. When you are talking about birds, you kind of have to wing it, right?

Someone asked my sister and I why we loved the flamingoes. We looked at each other and tried to explain the draw. We decided later it is partially subliminal. They actually were on some yards during our childhood—for the first time. They are making a comeback all over the place.

But the appeal is deeper than that. I know one of my favorite Scarecrow and Mrs. King episodes is the one where the spy has to go into the suburbs with the housewife as his guide. There is this (to me) epically funny flamingo-yard-art-sword battle with a bad guy. And hair dryers. It still makes me chuckle when I think about it. (I tried to track down a link, but apparently I’m the only one who thinks it is worth its own Youtube video. What is up with that?) If you’re curious, it is the first season, second episode.

(Side note: Scarecrow and Mrs. King also inspired The Spy Who Kissed Me)

I will admit that the TV connection doesn’t completely explain the spread of flamingo images through my house and yes, onto my tee shirts. (The hubs would like an explanation for that, too.) I think the simple answer is that they make me smile when I see them.

And now that I know more about flamingoes, I hate storks. (Watch The Crimson Wing and see if you don’t agree with me. Seriously, storks are evil. Who on earth ever thought storks could be trusted to bring babies???)

So I guess my question of the week is what makes you smile? Do you have any hidden (or not so hidden) hobbies that make your family and friends scratch their heads.

I love comments so much that I pick a favorite to receive my monthly AnaBanana gift basket ($25 value).  (And don’t forget that once a quarter I’ll be tossing in something fun from the Perilously Fun Shop!) Recipient is announced the first blog post of the new month.

Perilously yours,

Pauline