Photos under the Sun

Neptune the Osprey liked to live on the edge. When he was spoken of, it was with a hushed tone, a reverence, an admiration ….  Oh, was he ever the loved one; the beloved; the subject of stories told up on Lake O by the elders and the Shaman late into the night!  He was, as if one could be all that and more, the epitome of the PERFECT BIRD.  He was known throughout as:  Neptune the Sax; Neptune the Julliard Scholar; Neptune the Good Brother; Neptune the Sarcastic (but in a gentle way);  Neptune the Idol (of the barrier islands and beyond!); Neptune the Friend; Neptune the Comedian; Neptune the Fisher; Neptune the Fearless; Neptune the Lover and on and on. 

One day in late August of 2009, he became known as Neptune the committed to one and only one.  Neptune the what???? Yes, everyone wanted to know—Neptune was committed to one and only one???  Yes, Neptune had fallen in love.  Up until then, he had chiseled a nook in every heart far and wide even when he was a juvenile:

Even the Roseate Spoonbills were in love with him and made a gigantic flap over the news:

Up until then, Neptune loved his life and recognized, at a young age, that he had it good. He loved to say that the best thing in life was to feel the Gulf of Mexico breezes fluff up his feathers as he flew in and out of the barrier islands;  stopping to dive for a fish here; hover in the thermal winds there;  saluting a friend over yonder;  but something nagged at him and BADLY! SOMEthing was missing.  Try as he might, he could not figure out what until the day he caught sight of Bellezza.  There she was:

Nothing had ever knocked him flat on his striped tail feathers, hit him over his noble head, took more wind out of him than the lovely Bellezza.  Something about the curve of those wings!   Hmmmm!  Delicious!!  His longtime buddy Rudolf Valentino the Reddish Egret (RV for short) went off his food for a day when he heard the news:

Somehow, RV didn’t think this would enhance the Fearless One’s life any. Grande Bouche the Pelican was just plain blunt:

Before long, there were banks of grey moisture hovering over the Gulf of Mexico. And it wasn’t rain or an incoming hurricane.  It was the collection of tears and moans and heart-wrenching gulps of despair from all those who were secretly in love with Neptune.  All their dreams were dashed! This cloud of melancholia and lost hope that rose up into the air and wafted out to sea hovered for several weeks:

Neptune didn’t care.  He had netted more miles than a retired pilot; he had done a lifetime of  living and now–only now–did he have a clear idea for why he was alive:  it was so that he could meet Bellezza and spend the rest of his island days with her.  There was one tiny hitch—they didn’t have a place to live.  His sister Juno told him about the nest near the pier down on Sanibel Island.  It seemed it had been empty for a while and he and Bellezza decided to try it out by jumping a few times to test the floor:

So the nest—a marvelous affair of unknown provenance—would accommodate nicely until they settled permanently down farther on the Gulf.  With the speed of a lightning flash, the pair settled in and life went back to normal for all.

Many moons later, the day came when passers-by heard the strangest chirping and the daily leisurely fishing took on a frenzied pace.  For weeks, one could only speculate until, like royalty, two little critters were presented to an adoring public:

Neptune had become a Daddy!! Life as he knew it had changed in a nanosecond. The chicks  were the spitting image of the parents.  It seemed that the chicks doubled in size with every screech and every bite and Neptune, as well as Bellezza,  had quite a load to carry.  What had happened???  How could life get so overwhelming so quickly?  But before we explore that, we’ll check out the goings on over the past few weeks.  So, come back in a few days, won’t you, for more pics?

Meanwhile, here’s a little something to listen to.  A bientôt!  ;D