Archive for July 30th, 2025
Pittsboids part two
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Every time that I try to say what kind of a bird a bird is, I screw it up, so I just make up names for them. I also think that birds are uniformly dicks, and would take my eyes if they could. This bird prejudice is a problem for me, as the Audubon Society can be harsh, and I shot these photos at the National Aviary where these flying lizard things are venerated.
Never forget, birds are jerks.
Those two are obviously Flamingos, but I didn’t see any signage to suggest what sort of Flamingo they were, so I’m just going to say ‘Variegated Antarctic Flamingo.’ They must really stand out against the permafrost and glaciation with their bright colorations.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Dual lobed Snail Gobblers. That’s what I’d name those two, which are actually and probably Pelicans. Simply known as gobblers to the world’s fishermen, these things.
They’re the National Pelicans, I would point out, as they’re housed at the National Aviary – which was so named by an act of Congress, which was signed into law by a President.
Remember that? Law? Process? Democracy? Predictability?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A Five Eyed Cumulonimbus Hen, that’s what I’d call that thing above.
It was actually pretty neat having these evil eye stealing critters roam around during the event. There were ‘no touching’ signs and a goodly number of staff volunteers were watching out for their charges.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A songbird room absolutely captivated Our Lady for a bit.
Me? As stated, I think birds are assholes. Feathered lizards who will take your eyes and shit on you from high above. Maybe I’m scarred by all the Canada Goose problems I’ve experienced over the years.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That character up there, and this time around there was sign, is a juvenile Bald Eagle. Teenagers, huh?
As mentioned, your humble narrator is also not a fan of being caught up in the tidal flow of a crowd of humans. The Aviary began to really fill up towards the end of our visit, and it was clearly time to start heading for the exit.
As a rule, I don’t do crowds. You’ll never see me at a protest march or a stadium concert. I’ve talked about this particular wrinkle in my psyche before, and an obsessive need to know where the fire exits are when in public spaces. When I stay in a hotel, I walk into the hallway and close my eyes, and then count how many doors it is to get to the fire exits. Just in case.
I know…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When I shot this one, your humble narrator was thinking about the implied metaphor of the National Birds above. The one looking left seems indignant, and is completely ignoring the one on the right, which has its head up its ass.
Of course, a cigar is just a cigar. Don’t assign meaning or interpretation to images. That’s for the person looking at the photo to do.
Back tomorrow.
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