There are a number of superstitions about storks. Among them:
1. If a stork builds a nest on your house, your house will never burn down nor will it ever be visited by robbers.
2. Killing a stork is considered unlucky. (I should hope so.)
3. A black stork is said to bring rain.
4. A white stork is said to bring drought.
5. A pair of lovers who see a stork will have a baby before long.
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While out for lunch in the neighborhood with some friends yesterday, I noticed a beautiful ruin of a roofline in the near distance. No one knew for certain what the roofline belonged to. It may be attached to an old church entrance that still stands on the nearby Calle Feria. I’ll have to go back and explore to see if I can find out.
As I was admiring the structure, I noticed at the highest point what I first thought was a large plastic, decorative bird. I then realized that it, of course, wouldn’t be plastic or decorative. I took out my camera and zoomed in (although not very well) on a live stork on a nest atop the tower. I also caught a brief glimpse of a young stork on the nest as it briefly flapped its wings from beneath the adult, (although I couldn’t get a photo of the baby from that distance — and therefore don’t know if it’s a storkling or storklet).
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I don’t know what it portends. Since the nest isn’t on our house, #1 is out; we’ve got no protection from fire or theft. I definitely won’t be risking #2 by killing anything. It wasn’t a black stork, so we shouldn’t expect rain; that rules out #3. Which leaves #4 and #5. I hope for everyone’s sake it’s not a drought. And although San Geraldo was with me and we are in fact a “pair of lovers,” I am absolutely ruling out #5 (although I am curious to know how that would be accomplished — for one thing, neither of us being of child-bearing age).
I leave you all to consider superstition(?) #6:
Humans who betray their marriage partners will have their eyes pecked out by a stork.