last year - i experienced my very first sighting of this magnificent bird. what an awesome creature. i remember saying i didn't recall ever seeing one before - perhaps in a picture or zoo, but not up close and personal... so to be able to capture it with my camera - allowed to get within 20 feet before it decided i was too close for comfort... and it would gracefully take off in glorious flight across the lake... whew, such a rush i'd get! and always a matter of timing... never knowing when i'd be graced with seeing it on my ventures out and about. then once the cold weather arrived, it disappeared - gone for a bit...
well the other day, i practically stumbled on him... not expecting to see it so early in the season - there it was - relaxing by the shoreline... silently waiting - watching for a fish to appear for a snack. given the opportunity to approach once i realized he was there, i snapped some shots before he took off - then encountered him a few days later... doing another heron stalk (yes, i attempt to creep about silently thinking nature isn't aware of me... boo!) - i got off a few decent pictures before he looked me in the eye, creating a bond so forceful - so magical - i won't soon forget it. one of those moments, i felt as one with nature - one with god who created this exquisite perfection of beauty...
then he turned his eyes from mine, lifted his great expanse of wings and remarkably silent - flew over the glistening water... into the distant blue sky - leaving me breathless with the wonder of it all...
have you seen such beauty? experienced the sheer magnitude of creation at your fingertips? i urge you to take a moment to explore what's around you... it doesn't have to be a great blue heron - it can be a flower, a different bird - robin or crow... a cloud, the sky... whatever triggers you; take a simple moment to enjoy it - be thankful - be grateful, that you can...
happy day.....
