Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Blue Heron Route

Definitely time to buy a new camera

Our Tuesday morning walking route takes us along the eastern edge of Stricker’s Pond. Without fail, JoAnna spots “her” blue heron, usually perched on a log that sticks out above the surface of the water. Inevitably, the bird takes flight, always looking more wobbly than majestic to me.

On this week’s Tuesday walk, we didn’t see “her” blue heron. (I don’t know enough about this breed’s behavior to conclude that it could very will be the same bird week after week. A little research project for “later on”.) Of course, with the sunrise not occurring until 6:00, fifteen minutes after we returned home, the best explanation is that there wasn’t enough light to see much of anything, especially at a distance of more than 100 feet.

Yesterday morning, I took a meandering, one-hour bike ride along a series of mostly residential streets in Middleton and Madison. The home stretch included a pass by Stricker’s Pond, where I spotted JoAnna’s heron in his usual pose – just waiting to have his picture taken. And so I did, conveniently having packed my camera in a fanny pack. My aging Sony Cyber-shot (soon to be replaced), with a meager 3.2 megapixels, has a limited zoom feature. If it wasn’t for the bird’s white neck, it would be nearly impossible to pick out. (In a full-screen view.)

When I returned home, I downloaded the photos and sent the best one to JoAnna via an email to her DWD account.

“He says he misses you,” I added.

The main reason for yesterday’s earlier than usual bike ride? Rain in the afternoon forecast. And I promised Eddie we’d go shopping for school clothes. Not that he needs all that much. He’s still our son of simple tastes.


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