Heron

Great Blue Heron

Ardea Herodias fannini

sŋəq̕ʷəʔ

I've always wondered why

they called this grey bird blue. 

I’ve seen it all my life

fishing along our shores,

standing in green estuary waters

still and patient,

watching, watching,

until, suddenly,

it strikes.

The perfect fisherman.

Close up

it's not a beautiful bird,

but ancient:

a feathered dinosaur,

a modern pterodactyl.

Not graceful taking flight:

It rises with wildly flapping wings

and a rusty "Squawk."

Then one day,

as I watched from a distance,

the early morning light

danced sideways down the shore

and I saw BLUE!

The heron flew away,

 its wings' reflection 

in the still waters suggesting

angels walking here on earth.

I am blessed.

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Please be respectful of my work.  All the photographs in this post are protected by copyright and may not be used without my written permission. 

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This post is linked to Gallery of Favorites, hosted by 21st Century Housewife and Premeditated Leftovers and to The Simple Things hosted by Simple As That.

The Salt Sea

Here is the fringey edge where the elements meet and realms mingle, 

where time and eternity spatter each other with foam. 

The salt sea and the islands, molding and molding, 

row upon rolling row, don’t quit, 

nor do winds end nor skies cease from spreading in curves. 

– Annie Dillard

Here on the island, we live in that place where elements meet
and realms mingle.

Even when we are away from the shore, we feel the rhythm
of the waves: 

the heartbeat of this place.

We breathe the ocean in and out.

Here, not all of the edges are soft.  Often rock meets shore

but even hard stone is shaped by the ocean's unceasing caress into something magical;

a fairyland that, if you had not seen it yourself,

you would believe could dwell only in the imagination.

The shores are alive with a million creatures, both large and small.

Red jellyfish swim among green algae along the shore on a quiet day.

Tiny crabs hide under rocks,

or bravely venture forth,

leaving footprints in the sand.

Even on the most windswept rocks, visited by pounding waves, 

tenacious creatures make their homes and hold on tight

and when the tide goes out, seaweed garlands decorate the sand.

The ocean calls to us from the time that we are very young

and once we have walked on her shores
and wet our feet in her waters,

we will always return to her again.

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Please be respectful of my work.  All the photographs in this post are protected by copyright and may not be used without my written permission. 
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This post is linked to Gallery of Favorites, hosted by Premeditated Leftovers and The 21st Century Housewife and to Simple Things Sunday, hosted by The Simple Things, and to Saturday Night Special hosted by Funky Junk Interiors.