The stork is an iconic emblem of the Alsatian region. Walk into any tourist shop in the area and you can't avoid seeing those cute little devils in a myriad of forms. Even better, its easy to spot them in the wild as well. There are a couple nesting couples in the village where we live and several more in a well known park in downtown Strasbourg. There are also some picturesque villages just to our south that are home to many stork couples who have incorporated their nests into the charm of the towns where they reside. Storks have been said to bring good luck, fidelity and fertility!
Interestingly enough, they were on the brink of extinction in Alsace some 30 years ago. In the late 70's it was estimated that there were just 5 nesting couples (down from 150 couples some 15 years prior). The reason? The storks in Alsace migrate to Africa in the winter and many were not surviving the journey back. So some organizations stepped into action to try to repopulate the stork population in Alsace. By raising storks in captivity for at least 3 years, their natural migratory instincts were curtailed and the birds repopulated. Today, it is estimated that close to 300 nesting couples make Alsace their home.
So why the random post on storks? It seems that one will be making a delivery at our place just in time for the holidays ; ) So in addition to the massive feat of remodeling a 300 year old house, a new baby is providing us another exciting adventure in Alsace!
