Kira and I went to the beach to watch the waves.
That was the plan.
A nice walk. Some fresh air. A little mother-daughter time. The kind where you stroll along the water, listen to the waves crash against the shore, and pretend for five peaceful minutes that life is calm and organized.
Naturally, we brought peanuts.
Kira and I always eat peanuts on our walks. It’s just our thing. Some people bring coffee. Some people bring water bottles. We bring peanuts like we’re preparing for a very casual hike or possibly a squirrel negotiation.
What we did not know was that the beach had residents.
Many residents.
Feathered residents.
At first, it was fine. We were walking, eating our peanuts, admiring the ocean, minding our own business. There were seagulls around, of course, because there are always seagulls at the beach. They stood there with their usual suspicious energy, like tiny beach criminals waiting for someone to drop a French fry.
But surprisingly, the seagulls left us alone.
The pigeons did not.
I don’t know where they came from. One minute we were two innocent women eating peanuts by the water, and the next minute we were surrounded by pigeons who had clearly received some kind of urgent group text.
Peanuts at the beach. Move in.
Then they got bold.
Not “stand nearby and stare at us” bold.
Not “shuffle closer and hope for crumbs” bold.
No.
These pigeons flew right into our hands and started eating the peanuts straight from our fingers.
I have never seen anything like it.
There we were, standing on the beach, holding out handfuls of peanuts like we were running a pigeon buffet. Kira and I just looked at each other because what do you even do in that situation?
You don’t argue with a pigeon mid-snack.
You don’t explain boundaries.
You simply accept that the peanuts are no longer yours.
At that point, the handfuls we had left became a sacrifice. A beach offering. A tribute to the tiny feathered peanut army that had claimed us as their snack providers.
I thought pigeons liked crumbs. Maybe the occasional dropped chip. I did not know they were literally nuts about peanuts.
Lesson learned.
The waves were lovely. The walk was nice. The pigeons were intense.
And from now on, Kira and I will be making one very important adjustment to our beach walks.
No more beach nuts.
All the best,
Tia
