It was in the silence.
I drove slowly along the river. There were pools of water close to the road; overflow from the early March rains. A portal for bikers, this inlet is also a favored fishing hole for humans – and migratory birds. This was slight detour on my way home from errands; an activity I frequently participate in, especially this time of year when nature begins its slow journey into Spring.
So it was, driving along in the slow silence of the riverbank, that I sensed that which I could not hear and did not see. I stopped and I waited. I needed to be still and patient and respectful.
Can you find it? You might need to click on the photos.
It took me a few minutes to see what I sensed, then, a slight movement. A barely discernible ripple in the water. There it was. A heron.
He waited then slowly slipped along the shallow water, barely causing a ripple, almost hidden, a slight turn of his head, waiting . . .
. . . then dipping into the water, swiftly and successfully capturing his prey.
Down by the river.
“I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” e.e. cummings
