bird woman

The afternoon before Annapalooza,those of us who had already arrived in New London took a quick sojourn to OB (east) for a little fresh air and exploring. It was a strangely cold and overcast day, and our lovely hostess had to empty her cupboards of all manner of layers in which her scantily clad guests could bundle. We walked along the boardwalk for a bit, then ventured down a pretty little nature trail to see what wonders we might behold. It was gorgeous and grand, we were so happy to be together and out in the day and gearing up for a big time that night.

Ellie fell into a quicksand sinkhole, but that was hardly our biggest problem.

That would have to be bird woman. The Bird woman is a rare species, but sadly it is not one that is endangered. I'd like to call the bird woman elusive. You have no idea how much I would like that. But our bird woman was neither endangered nor elusive. She was all up in our grill.

It all started innocently enough. At the end of the nature trail, there was a cool sort of stage table thing that we thought would make a great backdrop for photos.

My sister Julie and two of her kids climbed aboard for the first turn. Julie had been warming herself in a towel, and it seemed obvious that she needed to do something with the towel before her photo shoot.

Put it down? Hand it to someone? Julie?

Oh. Or that.

It seems that before Julie could find the good sense to dispose of her towel/shawl properly, she was inhabited by the spirit of the maddeningly non-elusive and annoyingly un-endangered bird woman.
 

It seems friendly...

Is it carnivorous?

Is it cunning?

Are the children safe?

At some point, Jane and I took mercy on Chapel Hill Girl and her Mighty Young bro. We attempted to tame the Bird Woman. 

When nonviolent methods of domestication proved fruitless, we really had very few options other than...

Trap!

Hold! Capture!

But while Jane and I discussed  how to handle our prisoner, she began to protest

And in a Houdinian act of courage and gall, she freed herself!

And she was sad.

Fortunately, a sad-trapped bird woman's sadness is no match for the kind of laugh that only one Corey girl can elicit from another

And all was forgiven in the end, and we set off to make our way home before the rest of our peeps arrived.

We headed back toward the car, smiling and chuckling at the memory of that silly, short-lived moment.

ruh roh