28 November Thursday

I’m not gonna do a blow by blow, step by step timeline and update of everything about this Thanksgiving dinner. We know how to do this, and as the afternoon advances, I am likely to dribble off in the narrative and soon after go silent. As I often do, I took my hot cup of coffee outside to breathe the cold fresh ocean air and watch the sun rise on 18th street. I have learned that the resident birds have a highly evolved society which includes communication, education, and some form of justice. This morning when I went out, there was some counsel of seagulls on the roof of the buildings across the street.

The seagulls are generally the largest birds that live in the neighborhood. Most of the birds are of course the rock doves we frequently call pigeons. There are many hummingbirds in the flowers out back. Sparrows, finches, redwing blackbirds. The seas gulls watch over these smaller birds, particularly in Spring when the hawks are looking for chicks. The hawks visit whenever they please, which is to say when they are hungry and have cleaned out the nests on the hill. They live in the big trees in Dolores Park, where they can swoop out of the sky, tearing a pigeon to shreds in a poof of feathers and blood. If the meal remains alive after the brutal attack, no worries, the falcon will takes its favored tallon and drive it into the pigeons face, crushing its head.

Well, it turns out that the hawks are not the only ones eating birds today, and I think the seagulls must have sensed that many of their albeit distant cousins would be cooked and eaten today. Ha! Can you imagine if had to catch the turkey with my hands and could only kill and process it with my fingers? That’s what hawks do. More to come, it is a beautiful day.

I’d add some pictures, but how many pictures of roast turkey do you need to see?

Well now, it’s several days later. I told you I’d drop off, who knew it would be four days! In addition to having a wonderful Thanksgiving full of food, wine, and song, it also came with am energy draining chest and head cold. So, I am laying low now.

The dinner was lovely and everything turned out great, end of story. In my next post, I may be trying something a little different. More to come.