The Hills & Ribbons of Pelicans

It's corny but true. The rains have left a green carpet across all the hills in Malibu and through its canyons. Many are covered with California poppies or what looks to be daisy bushes. It's the time of year to drive over Kanan Dume with your windows down to inhale the fragrances of the wild flowers. Every spring I think I shall drive to the Mohave to see the flowers that blanket the desert floor for just a few short weeks. Somehow I never find a free weekend. A fascinating phenomenon that I have been noticing in the past two weeks is a ribbon of pelicans -- sometimes 40 or more -- who fly in perfect formation, one after the other, over the ocean. They look like a graceful ribbon floating through the air. A dozen or so flew over my yard this morning, again in single file formation. I wonder how they maintain their positions so perfectly. Sometimes there are just two who fly very close together, almost overlapping yet never colliding. Better than the Blue Angels. It's marvelous that the pelicans are once again so plentiful. They were considered endangered but they seem to have made a strong comeback. Such interesting looking birds but so perfectly suited for catching their meals. Everyone is looking forward to the great weather this weekend -- in the 80s even in Malibu. I am going to the Getty Center tomorrow night for a concert by Monica Yunus with my friend, Judy Miller. Monica's father is Muhammad Yunus, founder of microcredit that changed the lives and is changing the lives of so many around the world. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work and Judy was one of his guests at the ceremony. So she is a friend of Monica's. We heard her sing another night at the Doheny Mansion and she is terrific. She already has made her debut at the Met. It's time to close up shop and go home to feed Arthur and Icus. More on them soon.