feathers and a fighter

On the day after Christmas, J and I visited the ocean. We drove out to Salmon Creek, one of the California Sonoma Coast Beaches, where we watched birds, enjoyed families enjoying each other, ran from the waves, and collected feathers. I love feathers and can't help but collect them when I see them - fallen feathers only, of course. J is the same. I don't know where she got that from! She is so sweet. Rarely a day goes by that she doesn't bring me a gift home from school - either a feather or a stone. I love rocks, too. Salmon Creek Beach is inhabited mostly by sea gulls. There are feathers everywhere. I was struck by the beautiful still lifes the feathers, driftwood, and sea weed formed. We left the feathers in the still lifes - too beautiful to disturb by human hands. We collected "stray" feathers. Lots of them!

... and a fallen soldier