that pile of downy fluff could belong to any of a number of birds. but those white tipped blue feathers only belong to one animal. it has got me thinking, what is my identifying feature? for my gorgeous friend talin it is definitely her eyebrows. for my friend kristin, it is her brown-haired/blue-eyed combo. for my son joseph, it is the cleft in his chin he inherited from his grandpa (my dad). when i was younger, i would have said it was my turned up nose. the neighbors–the parents mind you, not the kids–used to tease me saying i “would drown if i went out in the rain”. today, my identifying feature would probably be the dark circle under my eyes i also inherited from my romanian father. thanks dad! good thing i had all that practice coping with a pug nose as a kid, because raccoon eyes are way worse.

mallard feathers

vadnais lake trail, saint paul, minnesota