Today the kayak rack on my jeep carried a Christmas tree home from The Club for Boys. It wasn't too long ago that I loaded up my kayak and headed for my favorite little lake any chance that I got. It's a beautiful little lake, quiet and serene. During the summer months there are many ducks and turtles there to watch. The ospreys nesting there are always busy diving for small fish to feed their young who can be heard calling from the trees. Sometimes they dive right in front of you. Most of the time they come up empty handed. When they do take flight with a fish in their grasp you just want to jump up and down and cheer them on. It will be interesting in the spring to see if they are there again, raising another family. There was also a great blue heron in residence there. Sometimes he could be spotted standing motionless among the reeds looking like a statue that you might see in someone's yard. He liked to perch on one particular dead tree, too, and unless you were looking for him, you might miss him. He blended in to his surroundings so well. I had the opportunity to rehab a great blue heron this year so was very happy to see this one. When the time came to release "my" heron, I took him to this little lake. When I opened the carrier, he came out and stood for awhile just taking in his new home. Then he took flight and I held my breath until he was safely on the other bank. He was beautiful in the air and had an amazing wing span. I was ecstatic to see him fly and couldn't have been happier about this release. I went back to the lake several times after his release and sometimes I'd see two herons, sometimes only one. My last trip to the lake was in mid-October. It was 43 degrees out. It was foggy and misty and began to rain. I loved being on the water in this weather. Most of the ducks were gone and the ospreys had moved on. I didn't see either of the herons. But as I sat out on the water thinking about how quiet it was now with all the wildlife gone, I saw a huge bird silently approaching from the far side of the lake. As it came closer I could see what it was. No, not a heron. It was a bald eagle. Beautiful and massive. How lucky to have had the chance to see that. It made me think about the opportunities that might be missed if we tell ourselves, "The weather isn't ideal." or "I'm too busy." or "I have a messy house."
