Look who dropped in.

Yesterday was the first time in two weeks that we had a break in the weather. Seeing an opportunity to squeeze in a quick jog at the beach, I headed out, determined to go slowly, dodge the ice patches and take in all the winter sunshine.

The beach was by all means deserted except for a few stray dog walkers. I parked and reached for my winter run gear (You have to get fully dressed before you exit your car because icy winds numb everything exposed in a matter of seconds.)

As I was primping ear buds in my mirror, I heard a small thud. I flipped up my visor and low and behold a huge sea gull was perched on the hood of my car. He inched towards my windshield and started staring at me. 

I tapped on the windshield and tried to shoo him away but he was unwavering. I flipped on my wipers but same thing. I didn't want to honk because I thought that I might give him a heart attack and I figured that he might be warming his legs. He didn't budge. I laughed to myself, snapped a picture of him on my phone, exited the car and was ready to run. He watched me the whole time.

Before I started running I looked at him and said, "Hey buddy, I'm going for a run. Make sure no one steals my wheels".

I thought that I saw the bird smirk but I couldn't be sure. He was gone when I returned.

Last night at dinner, I showed my husband the picture. "I was stalked by a sea gull today" was my big news. He took one look at the photo and out of nowhere he said "it looks like your Dad".

My Dad was one of the funniest people ever. Coincidentally, yesterday would have been his 86th birthday. My jaw dropped.

"He was just saying hello and letting you know everything was all right" added my husband, who NEVER makes those kind of outer world statements.

So...that explains the smirk.