Well, if not murder, then at least mayhem, but love and murder sounds better. You see, springtime is nesting time. Birds pair up, which is the love portion of this post’s title, but once paired, then they defend their territory, which leads to murder or at the least mayhem. Across the way, in the rich neighborhood (Have you ever noticed that a good murder-mystery always involves the wealthy?), we were walking earlier this week and came along the pictured feathers. They were found lying on the ground, but no body was found, hence the mayhem. Then yesterday, I was cycling by there again and caught the pictured perp, still noisily defending her territory. Her partner in crime was their too, but he was too elusive for my camera. Latter, I heard the answering call of the aggrieved party, so no murder, just a little roughing-up. They had decamped down the street, close, but not too close. The streets of this neighborhood are studded with aged oaks. Most have reached the end of their lifespan. Decay has set-in, making them prime habitat for these bug eaters, at least until the city forester gets the old oaks. I’ve added the feathers to Dan’s industrial sized dream-catcher, where their yellow shafts are set off nicely.
Today, Anne and I passed by this spot again, but this time did not tarry. We were on a mission, a mission to ride our bicycles to lunch. You know, we should have gone to Mission Taco, but we had just been there. It is the beginning of a four-day holiday weekend for Anne and today was a perfect day. Forest Park was delightfully uncrowded, just us two, plus a host of lawn mowers. Lunch was in the CWE, at a place called BBQ Saloon. Whiskey seems to be their main forte, but the barbecue was good too. When we first moved to Missouri, the word saloon was banned from the names of all drinking establishments.
I’ve done it again. I’ve buried my lead. Yesterday, I was texting Dave and asked him how Harvard was going? “Pretty sweet. I gave a talk today, about my research and there were so many big names in the audience. It was a little intimidating, but I think that it went well.” Cool!