Counting Summers By Heron

Often difficult to spot, I see this fellow as he moves past a grey light post (6/22/13).

Waking up early this morning, I get it in my head to go for a walk. Stuffing my camera into a string backpack, I set out for the short half mile walk to Cobbs Hill hoping to catch a glimpse of the small(-ish) heron I saw while entering the nearby on-ramp a few weeks earlier. My summer break from teaching is so close I can taste it and my hobbies during the summer are odd.

As has been a summer practice the past few years (2011, 2010, 2009, 2006), I begin the process of counting my summer by heron.

I approach too closely so he sets off for the other side of the "lake." (6/22/13)

Activity in the nearby parking lot distracts him from me. (6/22/13)

I wish the "s" shaped contours of his neck had been crisper--maybe next time. (6/22/13)

... and he's off again. (6/22/13)