I headed out to work this morning and took a detour to drop my mail at Tampa Palms post office. And I found something blocking traffic. Not a cow, not like on the roads of my small hometown in India.

I have to wait for three sandhill cranes to finish their courtship dance. It was a great sight, even though I got a little late. Tall and majestic, right in the middle of the road, showing off their feathers, two of them were fighting over the third.

I don’t know who won, but I guess I’ll find out later during the month. I think they live somewhere close by as we see them often in Tampa Palms.

I get mocked all the time by my colleagues about cows disrupting traffic on Indian roads, now I have something to mock them back with.

There is something to say about a bird that is not afraid of human beings. Or maybe it is the human beings who have shown them enough consideration so that they don’t feel threatened.

Or maybe the fact that we see them dancing on the road and not in a wooded area speaks of how much of their space we have occupied.

Lesson one - Don’t take detours while heading to work.

Lesson two - Think about the imapct on the planet.