My Private Dancer

Burlesque Curious Turkeys

Although I blushed, it only took one Blue Heron Burlesque to have me hooked on a show more decadent than anything HBO offers. And its leading dancer knows...I like to watch...

Slow Circling Osprey

Box Seats for the Family From Canada

Merganser Stage Manager Prepping for Show

A bunch of turkeys grazed through on my commute to work this morning. Not the tourists passing logging trucks at reckless speeds, but literally, wild turkeys. My commute consists of walking outside with hoses for several hours before returning to tap out stories on my keyboard. Evidently, word is spreading about Blue Heron. The turkeys are curious.

The coyotes left me a prank call next to my pile of uprooted knapweed -- hairy scat. I wasn't amused. But then I found a note. It read, "I know you like the show. Meet me by the pond. Bring tea. ~BH." I knew it was Blue Heron because it was initialed in chicken scratch. Bring tea, eh? Well, I'd bring my camera, too!

Expecting a private show, I was surprised at the gathering. An osprey flew in circles overhead like a news chopper, craning his neck to see the pond log stage. The Canada geese had box seats on an island and I was surprised they let their children watch. Didn't they know this was risque? Tail feathers will certainly shake!

Blue Heron posed cool as ZZ Top, blue feathers bold in daylight, casting me a wink, I'm sure. A merganser, his stage assistant, I believe, floated around the log. The morning lighting was set low and sultry, promising a day that would heat up. Tina Turner began to sing, Private Dancer. Well, in my head, she did.

Maybe I've embellished my story (I wish I was making up the part about the coyote shat), but Blue Heron was my private dancer this morning and any old music will do when he bathes, shakes and dances. Maybe I blushed, maybe I didn't. But I took photos and whooped loud enough to startle tourists driving on HWY 95 with the windows rolled down.

Enjoy the show!

It Begins

Full Plunge

Surfacing a Wet Bird

Strutting the Log Stage

Shake That Blue Booty!

Shake, Shake, Shake

Fluffing the Bustle

A New Move -- The Elegant Dip

Full Monty Shaking

Gettin' Down

Wing Peep Begins

Wow! Nice Feathers!

Shoulder Shrug

The Full Peep

What's This?

Flying to a Secondary Stage (Near Box Seats)

Showing Those Feathers Again

And That Concludes the Bath...er, the Show!