Urban Sailor

By Su77on

Blue Hills Wetlands (Part 6)

Daffy The One Legged Duck... (Tribute to the perfect blip)
Late start to the blip today with an appointment with the tax accountant first thing this morning (fingers crossed for a return). Then one of my best mates came around just after lunch to nut out some concepts for a proposal he is working on. I love that kind of consultancy (if only it was paid).
The weather started off very miserable today, wanted to rain but didn't, too cool for a tee shirt, too warm for a jumper. We did get a little sun this afternoon, right around the time of the blip which was very convenient.
I drove down to the wetlands and parked just near the short jetty (previously blipped). Jumped out of the car, keys, phone and camera in hand and ready to get the wildlife shot I have been so keen to capture. I had a surety that today was going to be the day.
As I approached the jetty, there it was, the holy grail of waterfowl blips. The perfect blip was a shutter blink away. 3 species of waterfowl all seemed to be convening at the end of the jetty. All at different heights and perfect positioning. Delusions of multiple stars, favourites and maybe even a spotlight flashed before my eyes. All I had to do was point and shoot.
But what if I creep a little closer can I make it a little better? What if I stand on top of the bench so aptly placed for capturing the right angle? No, that is it, I must get closer. I must get some height for this shot. Too make perfect more perfect. So I ever so cautiously crawled towards the bench. Slowly, ever so slowly. It took a long time to get to the bench but I arrived and the feathered friends remained undisturbed. As I climbed onto the bench and carefully stood, IT HAPPENED. My car keys slipped off my little finger that was holding them as I steadied and readied the camera for the ultimate blip of the wetlands. Almost as if in slow motion the keys fell onto the timber and bounced in a way that only keys can.
Now I am not sure if it was the sound of the keys bouncing on the timber, the expletives that rose into the still air, the sudden movement or all of the above that caused all bar one of the ensemble to find their wings and leave the scene of the paradisiacal blip.
That one lonely duck (blipped) that stayed did so not by choice but by disability. Daffy only has one leg and was unable to take flight the way the others had. It must be hard being a one legged duck in a two legged duck world. Todays blip is less about his disability as a flier and more about my disability as a photographer.
Thanks for the comments and feedback on yesterdays blip, as usual please feel free to do the same for todays tribute to what could have been.

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