Ryan Jordan

Soft Spots for Scrap Birds

Photo: Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco. Panasonic GF-1, Lumix 20/1.7. ISO 100, 1/60 sec, f/1.7.

I grew up in Seattle and have a lot of memories as a little kid feeding bread to seagulls on Pier 57 before it became fancy.

So I have a soft spot for seagulls, and like hanging out with them. I have a soft spot for carp, too, but that’s a topic for another post.

I’m also a big fan of Drew Barrymore’s seagull imitation in Fever Pitch. She did a good job.

So when I asked this seagull (let’s call him Fred) hanging out on the dock at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf tonight to gimme a nice smile, I was happy he obliged.

Fred was relaxed, like the boats bobbing in the background.

Which is how I’m feeling after closing the warehouse down here and moving it back to Montana.

There is something to be said about life near salt water. It’s nice.

The traffic is still scary – big time – and the earthquakes (two of them since I’ve been here, including the biggie in the Mendocino Triple Junction today), and gunshots, are a bit unnerving.

So, I’m looking forward to going back to Montana, where all we have to worry about is the Yellowstone Supervolcano and fluctuations in the trout population.

Fred might like Montana.