This marks Midwest Guest’s 100th post, so
I thought I’d do something a little different and fly a little further from
home by posting a few photos from our visit to Paris a couple years ago.
I loved people-watching at the Jardin des Tuileries.
This woman quickly drew a crowd, and I suspect she
and her friends had a standing date at the park each day!
Her feathered friends flocked around her, with many
of them eating from her hands or perching on her arms. Look closely at this shot
where I included a cropped and enlarged version. One brave birdie flies right
up into the woman’s face as the Bird Lady of Jardin des Tuileries appears to somewhat
testily tell it to wait its turn.
Thanks to Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby for
creating and coordinating Photo Friday to link travel photos and blog posts
across the Web.
© Dominique King
Ok...I am beginning to hear the theme song to Birds the movie...two bird pictures during Photo Friday. This totally freaked me out as I am deathly afraid of birds...that being said it is a beautiful story told through pictures!!! My kids would be in heaven!
Posted by: Jen@Heading North after Naptime | March 20, 2009 at 07:45 AM
what a GREAT set of photos!! usually paris photos are of monuments - this is an excellent view!
Posted by: Jessie Voigts | March 20, 2009 at 07:48 AM
That's a lot of birds! I wonder how she keeps the poop off her shoes :-)
Posted by: Beth Whitman | March 20, 2009 at 07:50 AM
Very cool shots. That last looks like she has a relationship and communication method with the birds.
Posted by: Gennaro | March 20, 2009 at 08:27 AM
Ah, Paris . . . I was able to spend part of a summer there a couple years ago. The Jardin des Tuileries is such a wonderful place to hang out for a couple hours (except in August, maybe, during the day . . .). Great shots -- thanks for sharing-- and congrats on 100 posts!!!
Posted by: Brandon | March 20, 2009 at 09:49 AM
My first trip to Paris was when I was three and some of my favorite pictures from that trip are of feeding the pigeons. Can't wait to take my own kids to Paris...maybe we'll see your bird lady. Great job of capturing her expressions.
Posted by: Lucia | March 20, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Congrats on 100 posts!
Posted by: Linda | March 20, 2009 at 02:20 PM
Oh my gosh! I remember feeding the birds in Venice, but it wasn't like that!
Posted by: Lisa Overman | March 20, 2009 at 08:34 PM
Heehee, I think the two bird photos, might have put Jen over the edge. I feel her though, 'cause pigeons are not my favorite.
I do like the way you captured her expression.
And congrats on 100 posts. Which one was your favorite?
Posted by: Carolina | March 21, 2009 at 08:46 AM
Jen--Sorry about The Birds. I think I might be a little freaked if I had so many birds around (and on!) me like this little lady. It didn't seem to bother her at all, though.
Jessie-I saw the Bird Lady and couldn't resist snapping the photos. I've got a lot of monument shots, too...but I think these because they show a little slice of everyday Paris life.
Beth--the answer is...she didn't. I also suspect bird droppings accounted for the old nylon coat she was wearing over her clothing on what was a warm, sunny day.
Gennaro-These were pretty much grab shots, so I was pleased that I managed to capture a little of the flavor of the moment.
Brandon-Thanks for the congrats! I wish we had more time to just hang out at the Jardin because it was such a great spot for people watching.
Lucia-Hopefully my Bird Lady will still be around and tending to her flock when you visit.
Linda-Thanks for the congrats! I'm surprised I managed to hit 100 so quickly, and that I pretty much managed to stick to my posting schedule.
Lisa-I'm guessing the Bird Lady built up her flock over time. The birds seemed to know as soon as she arrived and how to position themselves to catch the best bits.
Carolina-I'm not that fond of pigeons because they tend to make a real mess of things and muscle out the smaller birds at the food sources. I had to stop feeding birds at my house because of the pigeons. The mess was terrible, the drove out the birds I wanted to feed and they ate me out of house and feeder!
My favorite post? It might be the post about Motown's Funk Brothers. This year marks Motown's 50th anniversary, so I posted about that...and began remembering this particularly fabulous Funk Brothers concert we'd seen several years ago, so I posted a story about that as well. Thanks for asking.
For the curious, here's a link to the Funk Brothers' post
http://www.midwestguest.com/2009/01/motown-magic-comes-out-of-the-shadows-one-summer-night.html
Posted by: Dominique | March 22, 2009 at 09:46 AM
Dominique - you've certainly captured a lively and unique perspective here. Lovely to see this slice of Paris.
Posted by: Lorraine Akemann | March 22, 2009 at 09:25 PM
Congrats on your 100th post!
Birds are such beautiful creatures. As always- thanks for the great photos and writing.
Posted by: gypsyscarlett | March 22, 2009 at 11:13 PM
Congrats on your 100th post, that's a lot of blogging! These are some great shots although she doesn't quite look like the chic Parisian bird lady I'd envision!
Posted by: Fly Girl | March 23, 2009 at 03:35 PM
Lorraine-I liked the Bird Lady because she seemed like a very real part of the everyday life of the place. Thanks for stopping by!
Gypsy-I do like birds, although I'm not sure about so many pigeons in one place at a time!
Fly Girl-One hundred posts...the time just flew by.
Yeah, chic may not be the term...although the birdies don't seem to care :)
Posted by: Dominique | March 26, 2009 at 12:36 PM