I WALK A LOT FOR MY HEALTH. It also stimulates my thinking and ultimately centers my thoughts to arrive at a topic of interest. Hell, if Robert Frost could do it, why not me?
This Blue Heron was in Crystal Lake this morning and in the fog he drew me into his field with my curiosity. I watched his tantalizing movements as he searched the shallow waters where Cold Creek flows into the lake. I assumed he was looking for food rather than cooling his feet.
This scene brought memories of another big bird that I have observed over the years, the Sandhill Crane. They stage in Nebraska selecting a mate before coming north. I see them in fields around my county. They are like prehistoric dinosaurs and my quick research confirms they are way older than homo sapiens.
It brought back memories of a poem I wrote a few springs ago when I saw a pair of cranes in my neighbor's corn field.
Have You Ever Seen a Fat Bird?
by Robert Adams, Sr.
I'm watching pairs of yellow finches flutter about my feeder;
And groups of white swans side by side on newly open water.
Migratory birds appearing like small black specs in overhead lanes;
Last year's fields playing host to several red-faced Sandhill Cranes.
Spring’s arrival dots the landscape with these avian connections.
All around me are these glorious signs of order and attention.
Nature calls to our fine-feathered friends to select their mates.
And reminds me, it’s time to shed pounds and find a hot date.