A few months ago, I took a few tennis lessons with my hubs. Along the stony path surrounding the tennis court fences was this bird.



She comes to the same tennis court every year to lay her eggs. She's some sort of seabird (for you ornithologists out there, if you can ID it I'd be grateful. My son thinks it's some kind of plover.)

Anyway, if you get too close to her, she ruffles her feathers. I've been told her beak jabs hurt a lot and draw blood. The tennis club members put up a sign up every year to warn people to stay a safe distance away from her. They adore her and protect her fiercely.

I think she's trying to teach me a lesson.

Here's a sea bird in the middle of land-locked Nebraska. She's nesting amongst humans, high-velocity fuzzy yellow balls, and swinging tennis rackets.

She's got no rocky beach to nest on. And yet, she successfully raises her chicks every single year.

If that's not tenacity, then I don't know what is.

Happy Labor Day, people. Have a great day!