so lovely. And this reminds me of many heron encounters most of which fit your beautiful poem. I'd not thought of the heron's seemingly oblivious calm as it plucks at the shallows as "peace." But i can see that that is a fitting interpretation. Once, i was a worker at an island summer camp and though the pay was paltry the lodging was heaven-sent. My room overhung and thus overlooked the lake. One morning, a heron was stepping gingerly along the shore and plucking at the water. Eventually it wandered under my window which put it within an arms-length. I watched and watched until it looked up, stared at me for a moment, then went back to its foraging. It stepped away a few feet, turned again to look at me and, as if to say, "I was a dinosaur once," spread those great wings and flew away. As it wings unfurled and despite knowing what to expect, I was startled by their size and sat back in my chair. Dinosaur, indeed.
We will often have a heron stood at the end of the pier watching as the fishermen do their work off the piers edge. Sometimes it has one leg pulled up into its body and stands on one foot... but almost as if it were standing on two. Always a sight to see.
You'd think not just the sense of balance needed but the greater concentration of weight in one spot would argue against standing on one leg! Apparently not. Fascinating creatures. Thanks, David!
I need this one today.
glad it reached you!
so lovely. And this reminds me of many heron encounters most of which fit your beautiful poem. I'd not thought of the heron's seemingly oblivious calm as it plucks at the shallows as "peace." But i can see that that is a fitting interpretation. Once, i was a worker at an island summer camp and though the pay was paltry the lodging was heaven-sent. My room overhung and thus overlooked the lake. One morning, a heron was stepping gingerly along the shore and plucking at the water. Eventually it wandered under my window which put it within an arms-length. I watched and watched until it looked up, stared at me for a moment, then went back to its foraging. It stepped away a few feet, turned again to look at me and, as if to say, "I was a dinosaur once," spread those great wings and flew away. As it wings unfurled and despite knowing what to expect, I was startled by their size and sat back in my chair. Dinosaur, indeed.
Wow, what a moment! Thank you for sharing it so vividly.
Yes!
Excellent
Nice. Thank you, Karen!
Lovely!
Thanks, Thomas!
Wow. Gorgeous.
Thank you Margaret! And thank you, too, for recommending man of aran! Really appreciate it.
Powerful, sparse depiction of peace!
Appreciate it, Lilija! Waiting for your next report!!
Guardian 🪽🪽
Indeed. Thanks, Patris.
Lovely poem.
We will often have a heron stood at the end of the pier watching as the fishermen do their work off the piers edge. Sometimes it has one leg pulled up into its body and stands on one foot... but almost as if it were standing on two. Always a sight to see.
Thanks for sharing this.
You'd think not just the sense of balance needed but the greater concentration of weight in one spot would argue against standing on one leg! Apparently not. Fascinating creatures. Thanks, David!
This is beautiful, and the picture is too.