Keeping warm any way they can

Seeking shelter
London, ON, March 2008 [Click to enlarge]

Here's another perspective from my little trip to the riverbank last weekend (see here for another watery view from that same shoot.) I felt a little sad for the birds because it was a cold day and they had nowhere else to go. I know that's a silly way of thinking, because they're birds, and they spend their entire lives outside, often in weather even worse than this. But I've got an illogical soft spot that rears its fuzzy head on days like this.

Despite this apparent disconnect - I blame the fact that by the time I shot this, I had already walked through a thicket of branches that had covered my trench coat with sticky burrs - I convinced myself that the branch-covered cove where these birds were congregating offered them some shelter from the elements.

If only it could be that simple.

Your turn: Where do you seek cover when life gets a little too rough?

One more thing: Today is the 35th anniversary of the first-ever cell phone call. I was interviewed by Vito Pilieci of the Ottawa Citizen. Here's the resulting article: How the cellphone has changed our lives, 35 years later. Here's what I said:

But not all of the change has been welcome.

"It's an example of mankind's ability to introduce new technologies, but completely miss the boat when it comes to understanding the implications of those technologies," said Carmi Levy, senior vice-president of strategic consulting at Toronto's AR Communications. "In the past, you had to get someone live on the phone who was sitting at his or her desk in a certain location. They were literally tied to their location. Today, that limitation is gone.

"It doesn't matter if you are on your way to pick up the kids from school or sitting in an airport. The work continues to happen."