Sunday, October 10, 2010

For the Birds

Over the summer, I was thrilled to see that a few Caspian Terns had taken up residence at our local pond.

This is the story of Vern and Fern Tern. They're in a long tern relationship. having pledged their eternal love for one another.


Fern was recently voted the Top Songbird of her class in the last one hundred years - she's known as The Tern of the Century.




Here, Vern competes in agility training. Watch him - tern on a dime. Now, originally I had Photoshopped a dime of weed instead of the coin you see under his webbed feet. But that became a problem because not one tern was left unstoned.




The two of them really know how to get along. Occasionally, when Vern gets a bit snarky, Fern simply terns the other cheek.




Once when Fern was ill, Vern was very worried. When she took a tern for the worse, he tossed and terned all night. Thankfully, she soon reached a terning point and recovered. Vern rejoiced.




Fern says she's thrilled to have Vern in her life. They belong together. He has a good character. So does she. And well, you know, one good tern deserves another.




Recently, Vern proposed to Fern and she accepted. For their wedding day, they've selected the song "Tern, Tern, Tern" for their first dance. It's by the Byrds, of course. (this too is a Photoshopped image. The bird on the left flew in from a different photo)




You're all invited to the ceremony. If you're unable to attend, please send your "egrets". ;)

And speaking of Birds, I wish all my fellow Canadians a very Happy Turkey Day! And a Happy Columbus Day to my Amurikan friends.

71 comments:

Zuzana said...

Happy Thanksgiving dear Hilary.;)
Loved your lovely post and your play with words.;)
The images are gorgeous and you have to tell me how Photoshop can do all that, it seems I am not taking advantage of the software's full potential.;)
Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the turkey tomorrow.;)
xoxo

Sandra said...

You were born to blog, my friend. This is such a wonderful combination of great photography and clever, clever prose. I love it.

Dave said...

Aargg Hilary! One good 'tern' deserves another, etc.... :-)
Seriously though, you told a good story with your photos! - Dave

Sueann said...

Ha!! As I toss and tern...I laugh and laugh!!
Hugs
SueAnn

NJ said...

Happy Turkey day to you. Great work with the photoshop and very punny words! :) Made me laugh!

Hilary said...

This was the best post EVER.....and I nominate you for post of the week....even though you say you can't receive it....
We all know 'it's your tern'.

CiCi said...

We send our "egrets" but would truly love to be at the wedding. I know you had a great time writing this post.

Brian Miller said...

you know what they say...one good tern deserved another....lol. great pics and your story ut a huge smile on my face...

DJan said...

Quite the love story. I am sorry to send my egrets, they were lots of fun, too.

Shammickite said...

That's a real groaner!
But I loved every word!
I'm sure VERN and FERN are eTERNally grateful to you for telling their story, and they'll reTERN next year.

Phyllis E said...

Will the wedding breakfast feature apple ternovers?

Happy Canadjin Thanksgiving from

The Amurikin Cuzzies

Anonymous said...

LOL - it's the Ternimator!

Gorgeous shots, as usual.

Mental P Mama said...

Okay. This gets my nod for Post of the Year. Or, for eTERNity.

Tabor said...

I definitely suggest this one as a Post of the Week!! What a great read.

ellen abbott said...

Great pictures and oh so clever.

the Bag Lady said...

Very clever tern tales.
You crack me up, my friend.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

steviewren said...

Oh, the punniness of this post is killing me...with laughter! My only egret is that I am not a clever as you my friend.

Dawning Inspiration said...

Great captures Hilary - that one in the middle looks like it is saying: Please don't hate me because I'm beautiful!! LOL

Maggie May said...

Ha ha! That was a good play on words and as usual, the photos were great.
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Very clever, Hilary. I'm still smiling.

José Ramón said...

You have some very interesting blogs.
Greetings from creativity and imagination photos of José Ramón

Karen said...

Happy Turkey Day! Oh, Hilary...lol...love the "tern" of phrases you used. Great pics. The one of the bird with the feather was great.

Friko said...

Blast! I was going to say that you had left no tern unstoned. It was to be my tern, but then you pinched it.

Russell said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!

Those terns are beautiful birds and you certainly know how to TERN a phrase!

I enjoyed this post!

Take care.

Joanna Jenkins said...

Happy Thanksgiving Hilary!
Vern and Fern are quite the couple. Thanks for sharing their adventures with us.
I'm heading off to vacation next week. I'll catch up with you when I return.
Cheers, jj

messymimi said...

Even though I can't tern a good pun, I won't be bittern about it. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Slamdunk said...

Clever post--what a romance.

My favorite image is of the birds in flight. Wonderful capture.

Someone's Time said...

I rather like that Bird. It has character.

:)

A Bit of the Blarney said...

I'm ere via Zuzana's blog and oh what glorious pictures!!! Thank you!! Cathy

Daryl said...

Those are spectacular ...

Cricket said...

Well, now, you certainly milked that pun for all it was worth. Heh, heh. And since you provided your own soundtrack, I'll just leave it there.

Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

oh gosh...the puns... :)

25BAR said...

Beautiful!

Leah J. Utas said...

Great post. Done to a tern.

Pat - Arkansas said...

You certainly brightned my morning, my dear gull! Thanks!

Unknown said...

Love this tale of Vern and Fern Hilary and what you've done with PShop is amazing to me. I love also that your posts always puts a smile on my face, sorely needed so early in the morning. Now it's my tern to get more coffee.

Maria said...

'Tern, tern, tern' by the Byrds. I love it.....Lovely photos and a sweet love story too! Well done Hilary...

Ola said...

Very pretty, I like the bird pictures a lot. Greetnings!

Anonymous said...

At first I groaned, but after about the 3rd pun I gazed in amazement at your ability to keep it all going. Of course, that is just the prose -- your photography always keeps me in amazement!
Well done!

Bossy Betty said...

Great bird shots! They are gorgeous! My stomach was terning with the puns, but then I decided not to make a flap about it. You are at the beak of your writing skills!

Lori said...

LOL How you made me smile with this post. Beautiful photo's as always and clever words as well. Hope your Monday is marvelous. XX

Christmas-etc... said...

This is such a fun blog! I love words too (as you can tell from my history blog!)but you have twisted and "terned" them to a whole new level of fun! And the photos - "ternrific!"
(Okay...please accept now my feeble attempts! ;(
I just tried to follow you...but I don't think it worked properly. Will note your address the old fashioned way (pen and paper) and find you later!)
Ann

Jinksy said...

There's only one star turn, and that's you, Hilary!

Hilary said...

• Zuzana, thank you kindly. I'd be happy to tell you how to do that in Photoshop. Maybe I'll explain some of it when I reply to your email. Thanks for the good wishes, my friend. :)

• Sandra, thank you so much. I'm glad you think so. You make me smile. :)

• Dave, thanks kindly. I hope you're well on your way to recovery by now. :)

• SueAnn, I'm glad you got a laugh out of it. :)

• NJ, thank you. Good to know I made you laugh. ;)

• Hilary, my namesake, thank you kindly. I appreciate the thought. I'm glad you enjoyed. :)

• TechnoBabe, you're right. I had a great time playing with this one. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Brian, I'm glad this evoked a smile. It's what I was hoping to do. Groans work too. ;)

• DJan, I'll try to look after your egrets for you. Thanks for sending them. ;)

• Shammie, I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Groans are good. ;)

• Phyllis Cuzzie, thank you. Apple ternovers.. good one! :)

• LadyFi, another good one! Thanks for the kind words and for playing along. :)

• MPM, thank you for that. :)

• Thanks, Tabor. I appreciate the sentiment. :)

• Thank you, Ellen. Much appreciated. :)

• Baggie, I'm glad I could make you laugh. We'll have to share one or two of those on the phone again soon! Thanks for the good wishes and right back at you. :)

• Steviewren, thanks so much for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

• SD, thank you. You're quite right.. it does indeed. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Thanks so much, Maggie. Much appreciated. :)

• Good to know, Linda. A smile is good! :)

• Welcome, José and thank you. :)

• Karen, thanks very much. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. So good to know. :)

Hilary said...

• Friko, I did indeed. But you can still take credit anyway. ;) Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Russell, thanks very much. I know you like puns so I'm not surprised that you enjoyed this post but I am still pleased. :)

• Joanna, thank you kindly. Enjoy your vacation and be safe. :)

• Messymimi, I beg to differ. You're doing just fine. Thanks very much. :)

• Slamdunk, thank you. Your kind words are much appreciated. :)

• Thanks, Someone's Time. I'm glad you think so. :)

• Welcome, GrandmaK. Any friend of Zuzana's is a friend of mine. Thanks for such kind words. I hope you'll be back. :)

• Thanks, Daryl. :)

• Cricket, milked it? Don't get me started on cow puns. They're my udder favourite. ;) Thanks kindly, friend. :)

• Thanks for stopping by, Gary. :)

• 25BAR, thanks very much. :)

• Leah, thanks kindly. And good one! :)

• Another good one, Pat. I'm glad you enjoyed. :)

• Jane, thanks very kindly. I'm pleased that you enjoyed it. Such a lovely thing to say. :)

• Gaelikaa, thanks very much. I'm glad you think so.

• Welcome, Ola and thanks for the kind words. Please return again soon. :)

• KC, thank you so much. You're so sweet and never fail to make me smile. :)

• Betty, thanks kindly. You had me 'owling with your bird puns feather you meant to or not. Did you have to work at these or were you just winging it? ;)

• Lori, thanks very much. I'm thrilled that this made you smile. Thanks for letting me know. :)

• Welcome, Ann and thank you so much for such warm and kind words.. and a pun or two in retern. ;) I do believe it shows you as following me now. Perhaps you just had to refresh your browser window to see it. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll be back again soon and often. :)

• Jinsky, thank you so much, my dear friend, P. :)

Reb said...

Oh, the puns, the puns! Lovely as always Hilary. A Happy Thanksgiving to you and Frank and families.

Dianne said...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I LOVE this post
the photos are wonderful and the word play is priceless

your comment on my Sheldon post killed me, it will always be one of my most favorite comments ever :)

Anonymous said...

You are just too darn creative!! :-)

What a joy to read!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Midlife Roadtripper said...

I don't think my comment went through. Stuck in cyber space so eliminate one of them if it shows up.

I wished you a Happy Thanksgiving and said I hoped your weather hasn't terned for the holiday.

Tern, Tern, Tern by the Byrds. How perfect. I'm still chuckling.

Anonymous said...

I "flew" over here from Jillsy's blog... this is precious!

Wendy said...

This was absolutely priceless! You are brilliant! Must have had so much fun with this. I especially like the Tern, tern, tern by the byrds. I remember that song - way back in the 60's.

I agree with another comment - it's you tern to win Post of the Week! Put a smile on my face.

Country Girl said...

Oh. My. God. You are hilarious. The part about the dime's worth of weed made me snort. Excellent!

SandyCarlson said...

Happy Thanksiving, Hilary. What a great post. What fun! These are astounding photos.

Kat said...

Hehehe! So clever, so clever. :)
Hope you are enjoying a lovely Thanksgiving! :)

Unknown said...

such awesomeness.

you had me at Vern and Fern.

Tammie Lee said...

you are wonderfully witty dear lady~

kelly@thebluemuse said...

A big smile! Love it, and such gorgeous photos!

Merisi said...

Wonderful poem, better yet, a visual paean, to eTERNal love!

June said...

Great pix, beautiful birds...and I bet you drove yourself crazy with the "tern" deal.

Mage said...

I'm laughing. Thanks.

Hilary said...

• Thanks very much, Reb. And to you, also. :)

• Dianne, thank you kindly, friend. :) I'm glad you liked my Sheldon comment. I hoped you'd get a good laugh out of it. I just adore that character. :)

• Thank you, Jillsy. Much appreciated and I did indeed. :)

• MJ, thanks so much. I'm glad the post gave you a laugh. We had fantastic weather for the holiday weekend. It's much cooler today but if we're lucky, the warmth will re-tern. ;)

• Welcome, Barbara and happy landings. Thanks for the kind words. :)

• Wendy, thank you so kindly. You're right - I did have a great time composing this post. I'll have to try something similar again sometime. Thanks very your very kind words. It was my pleasure to make you smile. :)

• Kate, thank you, friend. I'm glad somebody thought that part was funny. ;)

• Sandy, thanks for the good wishes and the kind compliment. Much appreciated. :)

• Thank you, Kat. I did indeed. :)

• Thanks, Deb. Theirs was a love story just waiting to be written. ;)

• Tammie Lee, thanks every so much. :)

• Welcome, Kelly. Thanks for such kind words. Much appreciated. Please return again soon. :)

• Merisi, good to see you. Thanks so much for the kind words. :)

• June, you're right.. I did. But it was a painfully short drive. ;)

• Thanks, Maggie. I'm happy to know that. :)

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Hilary: That was a fun post to hear how the Tern family interact.

Velvet Over Steel said...

What Awesome pictures!! They are simply beautiful! You captured these birds so well!!

Debbie said...

What a lovely couple they are!

ethelmaepotter! said...

How creative!!!!

I absolutely love this and think it perfectly exemplifies the award I've just given you - come and collect it when you can!

Anonymous said...

This is funny. It was like a great book... I couldn't stop tern-ing the pages.. LOL

DI

Hilary said...

• Thank, Fishing Guy. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

• VOS, thank you kindly. Very much appreciated. :)

• Debbie, I'm glad you think so. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• EthelMae, thank you so much. I've added this award to my sidebar slideshow. Thank you for thinking of me. You're so kind. :)

• Snappy Di, you made me laugh. I'm glad you found it to be a page-terner. ;)

Anonymous said...

Wonderful photos Hilary! Great wordplay too, lol!!! Very entertaining to visit here!
:)

Claudya Martinez said...

You are hilarious. Terns out I really enjoyed this love story.

Linda said...

Hi Hilary,

I love the word play in this post, and the pics of the birds are excellent as always.

Hilary said...

• Thank you, Rainy. I'm glad you got a laugh out of it. :)

• Unknown Mami, thank you kindly. I'm glad you terned up here on my blog. ;)

• Thanks kindly, Linda. Much appreciated. :)