Monday, June 6, 2011

Fog clearing

This morning, after three days lying low & feeling unwell, I ventured down to the jetty. Through the mist I saw what looked like a shag and maybe a very large duck, sitting patiently, waiting for fog clearance perhaps.
Me too, I thought, still feeling foggy in my brain. The brownish sea-bird moved closer to the shag, then looked the other way as if pretending to be quite independent.
Then they had a little confab. I realised that the brownish bird was probably a young adult, the daughter perhaps of the patient mother. 'Shall we take the plunge?' they seemed to be saying. 'Have we got the all-clear yet?'
The answer was clearly yes, because in plunged the young one with a rather clumsy flapping of wings and a big splash, while the mother glided in after.
Other birds were attracted by their activity, or maybe by the fog lifting a little, and mother bird went back to her post.
Yes, the fog was lifting. I could see the ghostly shapes of boats out at sea.
The original pair went swimming again, and others came to sit and watch. And then the shoreline was suddenly there, like a ghost ship floating in the mist.
And here I am too, back on the blog, my head clearing little by little. I'm feeling more patient now after sitting and watching the shags. Some things just take time.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

So sorry to hear you've not been well Juliet. May you be back to feeling wonderful again very soon. Love the story with the pics.

Juliet said...

Thank you Joan. Feeling wonderful again sounds like a much better goal than just 'feeling better.'

Anonymous said...

So sorry that you have been in a fog, Juliet. I hope the fog lifts completely and you are feeling well soon. That you were outside for awhile is hopefully a good sign.

Lynley said...

We have had lots of low cloud and mist too over the past few days, softening and obscuring the usual views. Your photos tell an emerging story of how low cloud can shift and change.
I hope you are emerging from under the weather too now?

Anne Ruffell said...

Hopefully by now you will be feeling better again. Your photos of the lifting mist and the baby learning to fly are lovely and show how important it is to take out the camera even on a day when it seems there will be no light and nothing to photograph. And, of course, your words make it a complete story.