Egrets, I've Had a Few... by CoreyBlack
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
Around this time every year I start hankering to go to Florida. And since the temperature here in Chicago is presently in the teens Fahrenheit with single digit wind chills, and the temperature in Florida is about 80, who can blame me?
You don't miss what you don't know, and before the mid-1990s I would simply slog through winter with a steely determination, looking toward spring. All that changed after I lived in the Sunshine State in 1997 -1998. And ever since moving back to Chicago, the winters seem to go on for an eternity It's always this time of year when I REALLY wonder why it was, exactly, that coming back to this dirty Godforsaken cesspool of frozen slime was such a great idea. As a matter of fact, I'm wondering that right now.
Sooooooo, to cheer myself up (and put a little locational variety in this gallery), my next few posts will be of Florida. I can almost feel the warmth now. Well, it's simmering somewhere under the howling wind that's rattling my windows.
Photographed at the North Jetty in Nokomis, Florida on June 16, 2011.
Comments (15)
Chipka
Winter toughens you up--or so I've heard; and I can definitely say that after living in Chicago and encountering an average winter here, I can safely assume that I can make a trip to Siberia in the dead of winter and not really notice a difference...well...Siberia isn't as windy, and it's in another language, but still...Chicago winters make me think of King Leonides declaring: "THIS IS SPARTA!" before killing a messenger bearing demands from King Xerxes. People complain about Chicago winters and I simply shrug and say: "This is Chicago." Unlike King Leonides (played by Gerrard Butler) I don't go kicking people into wells and, thus, contaminating local water supplies as dead people in wells tend to get really nasty really quickly. And, so there you have it...a completely irrelevant statement at the beginning of this comment. Now, as for this shot. I happen to like Egrets; they're so elegant and even when their feathers are ruffled (mid splashy bath) they manage to look incredibly well put together. This one is wearing such a fetching ensemble: white with black pants (and, presumably, yellow shoes, but they're underwater so you can't really see them.) Egrets...I occasionally think that they're birds as designed by cats, since they have that flawlessly impeccable grace about them. You captured this one beautifully and I love the pure white against the color of that water. Nice. Very nice.
bmac62
I knew you were a good writer Corey, but,"...this dirty Godforsaken cesspool of frozen slime,"...that's decriptive wording if ever I've read any!!! YeeHaa. As for your Egret...nicely done and he does appear to be wearing yellow shoes. Gee, Tara and I get a completely different picture of Chicago but we do know when to visit don't we?
blinkings
And let me guess............he did it 'fly' way! 'This dirty Godforsaken cesspool of frozen slime'...isn't it funny how as a tourist I loved the place!
whaleman
I've had a few 'Egrets' myself, but very few! Great title! Now you know that taking a swim in that cesspool of frozen slime will really toughen you up, if you survive it...just cut a hole in the ice somewhere and jump in (with a rope around you) then have someone else haul your ass out of the mire. Later when you wash it off you will feel really clean! Because you'll probably use a wire brush, LOL!
auntietk
Teeheehee! I'm reading The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, so I've got Chicago on the brain right now. Did you know Frederick Law Olmsted included several hundred birds in his design of the 1893 Fairgrounds? "Olmsted had ordered more than eight hundred ducks and geese, seven thousand pigeons, and for the sake of accent a number of exotic birds, including four snowy egrets, four storks, two brown pelicans, and two flamingoes." Having just read that earlier this evening, I saw this egret and wondered immediately if it was a descendant of one of those long-ago imports. It was a fleeting thought which shook its feathers even as it landed, and flitted quickly away.
fallen21
Awesome shot.
kgb224
Stunning capture my friend. God Bless.
durleybeachbum
Wonderful words and a super pic of this scruffy individual, or maybe just windblown. Such a cutie!
jeanebean
Hey Corey, It's your mom. Also it's not in the 80's here today. We had temps in the 20's in some places last night. The strawberry growers had to turn on the sprinklers to prevent damage to their plants. It only got down to freezing here in Venice, but the wind was freocious and us old timers are not used to temps under 60. Brrrrrr. Like your egret and remember when you made it. It was a lot warmer then. Wish you were here. It's supposed to be in the 70's by Friday.
wlmay33
Love your play of words. If my wife had seen your title, she'd think, "We'd been talkin'." lol I don't know, on the temps, it was in the high teens in south Alabama on the beaches this morning. Central 'Bama, where I am, low 20's. BUT! Saturday and Sunday in the 60's and 70's (I know, I know ... "SHUT UP!"). lol Great photo.
mgtcs
Marvelous shot Corey, fantastic writing, spectacular work!
npauling
A super capture of this little egret and I sympathize over you spending winter in such a cold area. I hate winters and we hardly ever get snow here but it is just the cold. Florida sounds a great place to winter. I shall send you some of our summer sunshine my friend.
flavia49
beautiful
dragonmuse
Nicely done capture.. funny title :)
beachzz
Oh man, you would start talking about sun and sand and warm places. I am SO ready for a break from cold. Guess I got spoiled missing a whole winter by being in southern California. You wouldn't believe how many layers of clothes I'm wearing these days and it's nowhere near as cold!!