living in the Southern Hemisphere, “the warmth of summer is part distant memory, part dream for the future” as stated by Krista of WordPress’ The Daily Post. as i dream of summer, i am participating in the Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer Lovin’.

seagulls are often regarded as a summertime nuisance. my husband can not comprehend my fascination with these pesky sea birds.

maybe it’s because as a child who loved the beach, one of my favorite things to do was to grab a handful of french fries, toss them in the air and watch them appear as if out of no-where. now that i live close to the sea, sometimes, i sit in my back yard with slices of bread and toss broken pieces into the air just to watch them scurry in. weird? maybe…but i love it.

did you know that seagulls are quite clever? if hungry, they will stomp on the ground with their feet imitating rainfall and trick earthworms into coming to the surface?

seagulls demonstrate intelligence in their feeding behaviours by flying up into the sky and dropping hard-shelled mulloscs on to rocks to break them open so they can eat them.

in Native American symbolism, the seagull represents a carefree attitude, versatility, and freedom.

seagulls are fondly remembered in Utah for helping Mormon settlers deal with a plague of crickets. the seagull is now the state bird of Utah.

still not convinced?

that’s ok.

i can’t explain it…but it’s part of what i love about summer by the sea!