Early Morning Heron

The summer always brings an old friend back. I noticed him within weeks of moving to the DaM Farm. He's an early, early visitor and I hear him above me before I see him. The first time I heard him, I wondered what was making that horrible squawk. Turned out to be a heron on his way to the little dam. He fishes there every morning. And every morning he will greet me with his hoarse call as he flies overhead.

I enjoy watching him in the early morning before everything gets busy and noisy. There's nothing to break the silence except for the occasional splash in the water. Sometimes the splash is made by a fish jumping, blissfully unaware that a hunter is just inches away. Sometimes the splash is an announcement of a pair of loons who will fish with the heron. I love watching them in the stillness of a day about to be.

It's a nice way to start the day. On my porch with a cup of coffee before the heat and the mosquitoes make their presence felt. The sun is just touching the water, bejeweling the tiny crests with diamonds that disappear in a wave only to return in seconds. The living jewels are the most precious. You can't buy this kind of peace.