Patience Grasshopper, erm Heron

Great Blue Heron head-shot portrait – babsjeheron

“Lie still in a stream and breathe water. Climb to the top
of the highest tree until you come to the branch
where the blue heron sleeps. Eat poems for breakfast…”

Advice to Beginners (excerpt)
Ellen Kort

From:
If I Had My Life to Live Over: I Would Pick More Daisies, Sandra Martz, ed.

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Great Blue Fledgling Sticks The Landing – babsjeheron

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It was only after I had maneuvered in close enough to grab onto the strut of his pontoon boat that he came into focus, all gelled and spiky hair and tats, the silver bolts through his eyebrow and lower cheek glinting. He was sinewy and compact and – surprisingly – handsome for someone you wouldn’t want to encounter alone on the street after dark. Read more of The Beautiful Great Blue Heron… and the Man with the Spider Tattoo.
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Great Blue Heron Catching Large Fish – babsjeheron

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It is very easy to become absorbed – too absorbed – by the scene unfolding through the lens. One day, I came face to face with a different danger facing photographers: I was so engrossed with following the Great Blue Heron through my lens that I nearly stepped over the edge into clear air. One more step, and I would have been in the water below the falls. Read more of The Great Blue Herons Dam Love Letter.
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Great Blue Heron Launching into Flight – babsjeheron

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The man sat cross-legged on the sidewalk that skirted the perimeter along the water’s edge. In his lap, a pen and notebook. Pressed against his glasses, the eyepiece of an antique spyglass. Someone else might have used a modern telescope. Herons are ancient, their ancestors appearing 40 million years ago, and so it seemed fitting for him to have an old spyglass trained on the nesting island, instead of a newfangled telescope. Read more of The Beautiful Great Blue Herons Peaceful Muse .
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Monday Portrait: Great Blue Heron on a Pedestal Nbr 2 – babsjeheron

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It was then that I heard it, “Arh…. arh…. arh…. arh….” with a little tremolo. It sounded low and deep and like a frog. I swiveled my head to see where the frog was. There had been few frogs that summer; I no longer head the bullfrogs as I drifted off to sleep, so I was excited to hear a frog. And then I realized that this was no frog singing. It was the Heron vocalizing. I edged in just a little closer and softly echoed back my own version of her 4-syllable call. She repeated her refrain in reply. Goosebumps! Read more of Put the Great Blue Heron Back on her Pedestal? Who, me?.
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Great Blue Heron soaring upwards – babsjeheron

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Today I am enthralled when the green shoots come to the surface of the field like an ocean of spring. There wading through grasses, the birds lean skyward and, gathering momentum, rise up to soar. Both of them. The herons. Read more of Great Blue Heron Earth Day Love Redux .
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Great blue heron in territorial display by boat garden – babsjeheron

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A favorite location for photographing Herons is this sunken boat garden. One year the boat contained tubs of cherry tomatoes that looked delectable, the bright red of the fruit promising sweetness. In other years, the focus is flowers, like these gladiolus. While my favorite elements of nature are always the wild and untrammeled ones, this section of the shoreline is a place I’d love to inhabit for an evening, lazing in a hammock, fireflies twinkling around the flowers and the scent of dinner wafting from the grill. And a Great Blue Heron, there would be a Heron there. Sometimes no matter how well a photographer plans, the model has others ideas. This was one of those times. Read more of The Great Blue Herons Guest…Pink Flamingo?….

Top Five Most Popular Posts 2013-2023

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About today’s post: I have been nearly blind for many months and so have been largely absent from WordPress blogs. Yesterday I learned today that retina surgery is being scheduled within the next few weeks, which is an exciting development. Until then, Patience is the word of the day.

Because of my blindness, I’m not able to link in my posts to the various host sites for WP challenges/tags in the way I have always done in the past, but please know that I value the sense of community here, especially among the Lens Artists. Today’s post has Gladiolus flowers for Cee (FOTD), and has peace and follows the path most often taken (both for Lens Artists), and is a walk down memory lane on a Thursday (Throwback Thursday), and highlights the 5 all-time most popular posts for Paula’s Thursdays Special. This is the best I can do – sorry that I cannot link directly.
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I do love a happy ending, and hope my eye surgeon delivers one for the Herons & me! Patience Grasshopper.

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Once again, the Great Blue Heron diving beneath the water’s surface graced gallery walls.

TCAN One-Woman Show January through February 2022 Lobby Wall With TCAN Sign Reflected; TCAN Stained glass art by Carol Krentzman, framed by Jay Ball

TCAN One-Woman Show January through February 2022 Front Lobby Trio

My Great Blue Heron photographs were once again on display on the walls of the lobby and theater in a free one-woman show at the Summer Street Gallery, of The Center for Arts in Natick. It was great to see so many of you there.

Since 2001, the Center for Arts Natick has been housed in the circa 1875 historic Central Fire House, where the Summer Street Gallery provides an opportunity for accomplished visual artists in the region to have their work prominently displayed for TCAN’s diverse and loyal audience.

The Center for Arts Natick believes the arts are essential to a complete human experience and to the creation of a vibrant, healthy community. TCAN serves the Boston MetroWest region by increasing opportunities to experience, participate in, and learn about the arts. To this end, TCAN strives to present arts programs of the highest standard that are available to everyone. TCAN dedicates its resources to providing community access to diverse arts programs, reducing barriers to attendance, and building appreciation through arts education.

If you’re in the Boston or Metro West area, please stop by TCAN to see the wonderful gallery displays of artworks by many talented visual artists, as well as excellent live music performances and stage plays. The gallery is open whenever the box office is open, so please check hours here.

As always, many of my own photos were taken on the waterways of the Charles River watershed.

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Cee Neuner, Debhie Smyth, Becky B, and the community of Lens Artists encourage the entire international network of photographers and writers. Please click the links below to see the beautiful offerings from these wonderful photographers.

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Natick Center Cultural District logo

Folks, now that some areas have opened back up in a new normal, please consider supporting your local Arts communities – whether music, theater, crafts, visual arts venues, and others. All have been impacted over the past THREE years and they still need your love more than ever.

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The Natick Center Cultural District is situated in a friendly, classic New England town hosting a vibrant, contemporary fusion of art, culture and business. Click here and here to learn more!

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My brick & mortar presence in Massachusetts dates back to 2009 in several local venues/galleries.

TCAN – The Center for Arts Natick – One-woman photography show through February 2022
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Natick Town Hall – Current group exhibit thru January 3 2023
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Five Crows Gallery in Natick – Represented since 2013
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Audubon Sanctuary
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Be a fly on the wall! Please CLICK HERE to see the Great Blue Herons gracing the gallery walls.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

May the Muse be with you.™

The Tao of Feathers™

A Patience of Herons™

© 2003-2023 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows, Natick Center Cultural District

Mute Swans Saturday Night Bath Time

Mute Swan Bathing Beauty – babsjeheron

Another bath? Do we have to?

Well it IS Saturday and that does mean bath day – even for birds.

That Saturday, I was tired, and the journey back to the home dock would take another hour and a half. I had already bagged a fair number of Great Blue Heron captures and was eager to take out.

From a distance, I gave a passing glance at the southern shoreline and saw the usual pair of Mute Swans floating in their usual spot, and so I paddled on.

Rounding the curve below the Labs, coming closer to the Swans, I noticed an odd-looking thrashing and splashing unlike any Swan behavior I’d seen before.

Binoculars up, I sat transfixed, watching from across the channel as one of the Swans took a Saturday bath. Amazing.

Many of us have seen Robins, or Warblers, or other small songbirds splashing about in a backyard garden birdbath. Now, imagine a bird with a 7-to-8 foot wingspan behaving just the same – dunking their head and neck fully below the surface, coming back up to shake off the water, rearing up on legs, wings akimbo flapping and expelling droplets galore, and preening, preening, preening to sort out feathers. The Swan’s bath lasted more than 15 minutes. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. i took just over 250 photographs in that 15 minutes. Canon burst mode for the win.

Mute Swan Bathing Nbr 3 – babsjeheron

And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?

The Swan, Excerpt.
Mary Oliver,
Swan: Poems and Prose Poems

Mute Swan Bathing Nbr 2 – babsjeheron

Obligatory. What’s a Saturday night bath without a Rubber Ducky!

Rubber Duckie you’re the one,
You make bathtime lots of fun,
Rubber Duckie I’m awfully fond of you
Vo-vo-dee-o!

Jeff Moss
The Sesame Street Songbook

Rubber Ducky at the Lake – babsjeheron

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This post is prompted by the Lens Artist ladies (Tina, Amy, Patti, and Leya) and Cee Neuner, all of whom encourage the community. This week, the Lens Artists focus on gorgeous photos with the theme of Feet and Shoes. What a fun topic! Did you know that Great Blue Herons have webbed toes? Here’s one example:

Great Blue Heron in the Rain Nbr 2 – babsjeheron The circle shows webbing between two toes

From Patti Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 161: Feet and Shoes .
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From Tina Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 161: Feet and Shoes .
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From Amy Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 161: Feet and Shoes .

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From Leya Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 161: Feet and Shoes .
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Thanks to Cee for her CFFC: Blue.

Thanks to Paula for her Thursdays Special: Pick a Word in July: Flow. The water flow cascaded off the Swan as she bathed.

Thanks to Debbie for her Six Word Saturday . This post title has the requisite six words!

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Folks, now that some areas are opening back up, please consider supporting your local Arts communities – whether music, theater, crafts, visual arts venues, and others. All have been impacted over the past year and they need your love.

My brick & mortar presence in Massachusetts dates back to 2009 in several local venues/galleries.

2015 (May), 2016 (March and July), 2018 (May, June, July), 2019 (December), 2020 (January) several one-woman photography shows at TCAN – The Center for Arts Natick
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2018 (September, October) one-woman photography show at Natick Town Hall
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2013 thru now 2021 Five Crows Gallery in Natick
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2009 one-woman photography show at a local Audubon Sanctuary
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From December 4 through January 28, 2020, my Great Blue Heron photographs were once again on display on the walls of the lobby and theater in a free one-woman show at the Summer Street Gallery, of The Center for Arts in Natick.

Many of the photos in the exhibit were shown for the first time, and do not appear on the blog. As always, many of the photos were taken on the waterways of the Charles River watershed.
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Thanks to Erica V and WordPress for the recent WPC: Place in the World. My favorite place is where the Herons are, of course it is. And the Herons? Their place is near the water, but also on the gallery walls and my blog. How else can I share them with you?

Thanks also to Ben H and WordPress for their WPC Challenge: Liquid. The Herons are drawn to water, as am I.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

May the Muse be with you.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2003-2021 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Mute Swan, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows, Natick

Beautiful Great Blue Heron and Shadows

Great blue heron on the rocks – babsjeheron

“I was crying because I can’t get my shadow to stick on.”
“It has come off?”
“Yes.”
Then Wendy saw the shadow on the floor, looking so draggled, and she was frightfully sorry for Peter. “How awful!” she said, but she could not help smiling when she saw that he had been trying to stick it on with soap.

Peter Pan and Wendy
Chapter 3
J.M. Barrie
Peter Pan

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Drifting slowly towards the mouth of the creek, I saw a heron feather, a grey-blue blur bobbing against the green waters along the north shore.

Wedging the nose of the kayak into the mud under the old oaks, I scooped up the feather with my paddle blade. I had just bent forward to secure it under the deck bungee when a large shadow passed overhead.

A burst of feathers exploded onto the shore a couple of yards to my east. A great blue heron, so close. He obviously hadn’t seen the kayak under the tree canopy on his landing approach.

As I fumbled to get the camera out of the dry sack, another larger shadow cruised over my head, and a second heron swooped in about eight feet from the first.

Two herons, so close. So close!

Over the years, shadows have played a pivotal role in many of my experiences on the water. Such as the time a Bald Eagle shadow startled me as it unexpectedly passed over the kayak from stern to bow or the time a Great Blue Heron shadow was the only forewarning of the bird about to land just four feet off my starboard side and crash the conference call in progress. (Yes, a conference call from a kayak in the cove.) Please click here to see the time a Great Blue Heron decided I was “the lesser of evils.”

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If the Great Blue Heron sees his shadow
Does it mean six more weeks of winter??

Shadow of A Great Blue Heron – babsjeheron

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Thanks to Cee for her CFFC: Nature Animals.
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Thanks to Paula for her Thursdays Special: Pick a Word in May.
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This week’s Lens Artist challenge from the always inspiring and creative artists Patti, Tina, Amy, and Leya, focuses on Shade and Shadows. Check out the Lens Artists’ Shade and Shadows photos here:

From Patti Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 152: Shade and Shadows .
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From Tina Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 152: Shade and Shadows .

From Amy Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 152: Shade and Shadows .

From Leya Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 152: Shade and Shadows .

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Folks, now that some areas are opening back up, please consider supporting your local Arts communities – whether music, theater, crafts, visual arts venues, and others. All have been impacted over the past year and they need your love.

My brick & mortar presence in Massachusetts dates back to 2009 in several local venues/galleries.

2015 (May), 2016 (March and July), 2018 (May, June, July), 2019 (December), 2020 (January) several one-woman photography shows at TCAN – The Center for Arts Natick
.
2018 (September, October) one-woman photography show at Natick Town Hall
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2013 thru now 2021 Five Crows Gallery in Natick
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2009 one-woman photography show at a local Audubon Sanctuary
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From December 4 through January 28, 2020, my Great Blue Heron photographs were once again on display on the walls of the lobby and theater in a free one-woman show at the Summer Street Gallery, of The Center for Arts in Natick.

Many of the photos in the exhibit were shown for the first time, and do not appear on the blog. As always, many of the photos were taken on the waterways of the Charles River watershed.
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Thanks to Erica V and WordPress for the recent WPC: Place in the World. My favorite place is where the Herons are, of course it is. And the Herons? Their place is near the water, but also on the gallery walls and my blog. How else can I share them with you?

Thanks also to Ben H and WordPress for their WPC Challenge: Liquid. The Herons are drawn to water, as am I.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2003-2021 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, TCAN, Five Crows, Natick

Beautiful Great Blue Herons – The Eyes Have It (Quirky Artist Stories Nbr 17)

Suddenly one recent Thursday morning, I lost vision in my left eye.

Great Blue Heron on a Pedestal – babsjeheron

Retina surgery went well. Before the operation I could not see two fingers if wiggled in front of my left eye and now after last Thursday’s surgery I can.

Remarkable job by my surgeon. Still a ways to go but I’m pleased as you can imagine.

Before the surgery I could not even see the eye chart on the wall much less read it. Now I can see the eye chart, still can’t read it but that may come with time.

Take care of your eyes, people.

And reach out if you (or a loved one) need an excellent retina surgeon in eastern Massachusetts.

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.Thanks again to Paula for her recent Thursday’s Special: Rift photo prompt. There is a rift between my left eye and right eye.

Thanks to Cee for her Hunt for joy.

This post is dedicated to the Lens Artist ladies (Tina, Amy, Patti, and Leya) and to Cee Neuner and Paula, all of whom encourage and inspire. Welcome back, Paula.

This week, the Lens Artists focus on negative space. There was definitely negative space where the vision in my left eye should have been.

From Patti Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 114: Negative Space .
From Tina Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 114: Negative Space .
From Amy Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 114: Negative Space .
From Leya Lens Artists Weekly Photo Challenge 114: Negative Space .

Thanks to Cee for her Hunt for joy.
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From December 4 through January 28, 2020, my Great Blue Heron photographs were once again on display on the walls of the lobby and theater in a free one-woman show at the Summer Street Gallery, of The Center for Arts in Natick.

Many of the photos in the exhibit were shown for the first time, and do not appear on the blog. As always, many of the photos were taken on the waterways of the Charles River watershed.
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Thanks to Erica V and WordPress for the recent WPC: Place in the World. My favorite place is where the Herons are, of course it is. And the Herons? Their place is near the water, but also on the gallery walls and my blog. How else can I share them with you?

Thanks also to Ben H and WordPress for their WPC Challenge: Liquid. The Herons are drawn to water, as am I.
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During September and October, 2018, the Great Blue Herons were featured on the walls of the Natick Town Hall, located at 13 East Central Street in Natick, MA.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2020 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, TCAN, Five Crows, Natick

Heron: What’s Wrong with this Picture? (Quirky Artist Stories Nbr 15)

Broken Lens – babsjeheron

Raise your hand if you remember film cameras.

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I don’t remember when or how this lens developed that extra bend.

It was a good lens and served me well back in the days before digital. Back then, my film budget was two 35 exposure rolls of 35mm per outing. I went home happy if I got one good capture per roll. And now? Easily 800+ exposures on an average day. Who could afford that if shooting actual film? Not me

I enjoyed experimenting with and comparing different brands of film. During Comet Hale-Bopp’s reign in 1997 for a few months, I did side-by-side comparisons of the comet taken from the same vantage point. As I recall, my preference back then turned out to be the old Fujifilm 35mm. Getting the exposure duration was tricky, and my then elementary-school-age daughter came up with a system of counting out loud one hippopotamus, two hippopotamus, three… etc.

For sentimental Great Blue Heron reasons, this Fledgling is one of my favorites taken with that now-broken lens and film camera. It is NOT art by any stretch.

Great Blue Heron Fledgling Captured with Film Camera – babsjeheron

What I like most about this photo are the colors of the Heron’s feathers. They seem to have a much broader, richer and nuanced range, and reveal a deeper depth of textures than any of my digital photos.

Have you ever compared digital and film side-by-side? Do you have a preference, and why?
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Thanks to Cee for her CFFC: Tools. This camera and lens were stalwart companions for years. I had two of the same body, but two different lenses before going all digital in 2007.
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Thanks to Paula for her Thursdays Special: Pick a Word in October: Aperture . Due to an accodent, the ‘extra’ aperture of this lens let in much more light than normal.
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Thanks to Debbie for this week’s Travel with Intent Challenge – Six Word Saturday. I don’t think I’m capable of keeping the entire posy at six words, but at least the title is only six..
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Thanks to Dawn for her Festival of Leaves: Week 7. This photo was taken when the upper end of the cove was still quite green, but the eastern end had glorious red maples blazing. Surprising how the microclimates in a small area can produce colorful leaves on differing schedules.
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Thanks to Erica V and WordPress for the recent WPC: Place in the World. My favorite place is where the Herons are, of course it is. And the Herons? Their place is near the water, but also on the gallery walls and my blog. How else can I share them with you?

Thanks also to Ben H and WordPress for their WPC Challenge: Liquid. The Herons are drawn to water, as am I.
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During September and October, 2018, the Great Blue Herons were featured on the walls of the Natick Town Hall, located at 13 East Central Street in Natick, MA.
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From May 1 through July 11, 2018, my Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a free one-woman show at the Summer Street Gallery, of The Center for Arts in Natick. If you’re in the Boston or Metro West area, please stop by to see the current gallery show at TCAN. The gallery is open whenever the box office is open, so please check hours here.
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Through July 13, 2017 I was a Featured Artist at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area. Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.

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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2018 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows, Natick

Great Blue Heron in Autumn Nbr 3

Great Blue Heron by Falling Waters for Six Word Saturday

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This waterfall is no more, sadly.
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For the months of September and October, the Great Blue Herons are featured on the walls of the Natick Town Hall, located at 13 East Central Street in Natick, MA. Feel free to stop in during office hours Monday thru Wednesday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm; Thursday 8:00 am – 7:00 pm; Friday 8:00 am – 12:30 pm
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Thanks to Debhie for her a Six Word Saturday. The falling waters shown here are a thing of the past, now. The base of the falling water was a popular spot for Herons and Red Tailed Hawks to fish for their supper.
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Thanks to Dawn for her recent Festival of Leaves: Week 5. I spent many hours over 7 or 8 years hidden in my kayak across the channel from this spot in hopes of capturing a Great Blue Heron with the striking autumn leaves. Good things come to she who waits.
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Thanks to Cee for her recent CFFC: Vibrant Colors. I have no idea what those vivid red leaves are.
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Thanks to Paula for her Thursdays Special: Pick a Word in October: Gushing . Depending on the day, the falling waters gushed down the hillside.

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Thanks to Erica V and WordPress for the recent WPC: Place in the World. My favorite place is where the Herons are, of course it is. And the Herons? Their place is near the water, but also on the gallery walls and my blog. How else can I share them with you?

Thanks also to Ben H and WordPress for their WPC Challenge: Liquid. The Herons are drawn to water, as am I.

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From May 1 through July 11, 2018, my Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a free one-woman show at the Summer Street Gallery, of The Center for Arts in Natick. If you’re in the Boston or Metro West area, please stop by to see the current gallery show at TCAN. The gallery is open whenever the box office is open, so please check hours here.
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Through July 13, 2017 I was a Featured Artist at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area. Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.

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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2018 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows

Beautiful Great Blue Herons – A Retrospective, Nbr 3

People who know me know my motto:

“Walk softly and carry a long lens™”

Babsje

Great Blue Heron Yearling Number 2 – babsjeheron

I learned long ago to open myself, and my eyes and camera, to whatever experiences and sights the waters bring forth at any moment. My emotions have run the gamut from excitement, to apprehension, to alarm, to amazement, to curiosity, to anxiety, to happiness, and (thankfully very rarely) to sadness. Close readers of this blog are aware of the protectiveness I feel towards the Great Blue Herons. The stories in this retrospective post all have happy endings. I like happy endings.

Once again, many thanks to the creative team at WordPress who have made it possible to share the Great Blue Herons here over the past 5 years.

Great Blue Heron Fledgling

Close to the island, I found no crumpled birds littering the island floor, no sodden nestlings floating in the waters nearby.

Click here for Freshly Fledged.
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Hot Time at the Boathouse

And what the taxi driver told me next made the hair stand up on the back of my neck… That day, he came across a great blue heron caught in fishing line on one of the pine logs. The line was caught in the heron’s wing and foot, and the heron was struggling but obviously very weakened by the time he got there.

Click here for The Taxi Driver’s Tale.
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Fishing with A Feather

Doesn’t this Great Blue Heron holding a seagull feather bring to mind a friendly dog playfully carrying his favorite toy back to you? At the time, I wanted to say to her, “Who’s a good girl? You are! You are a good girl!” because the way she pranced the length of the submerged log seemed so playful – at first. And then I realized it was another case of tool use by Herons.

Click here for Who’s a good Great Blue Heron?.
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Great Blue Heron Yearling

There was reason to be concerned for the newly-fledged herons. Would they survive the migration south, the winter, and the migration back? If so, would they remember this lake where they were born and make it their home once again?

Click here for Full Circle: Freshly Fledged.
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Great Blue Heron Meditation

I heard them – boisterous and happy – before I felt their wake, and I felt their wake before I saw them, and when I saw them the first thing I saw was the captain’s over-size gang hat. And the second thing I saw was their telegraphed trajectory – heading straight for the small nesting island. There was no doubt about that, and no doubt that they would make landfall, and no doubt that the adult male would flee the nest and abandon the chicks.

Click here for Pequeño: Stranger in a Strange Land .
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Thanks to Krista S and WordPress for last week’s final WPC: All Time Favorites. Many thanks to the creative team at WordPress who have made sharing the Great Blue Herons here over the past 5 years possible.

Thanks to Cee N and WordPress for her COB Photo Challenge: June 10 2018. Look closely at the set of five photos in this post. Do you see one that is not like the others? (And apologies to Cee for once again bending the rules.)

Thanks to Paula and WordPress for her Thursday’S Special: Pick A Word In June. The Fledgling Great Blue Heron is a ‘nascent’ GBH, freshly out of the nest.

Thanks again to Erica V and WordPress for the recent WPC: Place in the World. My favorite place in the world is on the water with the beloved Great Blue Herons.
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From May 1 through July 11, 2018, my Great Blue Heron photographs once again grace the walls of the lobby and theater in a free one-woman show at the Summer Street Gallery, of The Center for Arts in Natick. If you’re in the Boston or Metro West area, please stop by to see the Great Blue Herons. As always, many of the photos were taken on the waterways of the Charles River watershed. The gallery is open whenever the box office is open, so please check hours here.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2018 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows

Beautiful Great Blue Heron in the Morning

Great Blue Heron on Bough – babsjeheron

I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.

e.e. cummingsE.E. Cummings:
Complete Poems 1904-1962

On the first outing each spring, I am reminded that there is an art to seeing the very familiar with fresh eyes, where no two days are the same. I am reminded to not take for granted the usual wildlife and their commonplace behaviors, to not fall into the trap of my own routines.

The inaugural circumnavigation of the lake is fast approaching – though not quite fast enough for me this spring.

Will I see this Great Blue Heron once again this year?

Have I ever mentioned that no two years are the same?

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Thanks to Krista S and WordPress for their recent WPC Challenge: I’d Rather Be. I’d rather be out, camera in hand, today, but it is still too cold for kayaking. Soon. Soon I keep telling myself. Soon.

Thanks to Cheri and WordPress for the recent WPC: Favorite Place. My favorite place is where the Herons are, of course it is.

Thanks to Paula for her Thursday’s Special: Verdant. The green of the bough in the faint mist that morning was verdant.

Thanks to Cee for her recent Photo Challenge: Birds. Once again, I am very tardy, Cee, but I couldn’t resist. Your challenges are inspiring.
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Watch this space for news of my next one-woman photography show for the months of May and June, 2018.
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From July 1 through July 30, 2016, I was the Featured Artist of the Month at the Summer Street Gallery. The Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a one-woman show at The Center for Arts in Natick. In addition to the visual arts shown at the gallery, TCAN has a lively, dynamic lineup of upcoming performing artists.
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Through July 13, 2017 I was a Featured Artist at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area. Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.
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Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2018 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN, Five Crows

Beautiful Great Blue Heron Expecting to Fly

Great blue heron practicing flying one day before fledging.

There you stood on the edge of your feather
Expecting to fly…
Neil Young
Buffalo Springfield Again

The fledgling Great Blue Heron seemed to hover atop the branch mid-flight, toes outstretched with only one goal in mind, stick the landing. There was no margin for error 80 feet above the island floor.

My heart was in my throat as I watched – riveted – from across the channel, eight stories down.

The next day, only one Heron remained at the nest.

And the next day?

Spoiler alert here.

What a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

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Thanks to Cherie and WordPress for the recent WPC Challenge: Atop.

Thanks once again to Paula for her Thursday’s Special challenge.

Thanks once again to Stewart Moncton for the Wild Bird Wednesday prompt.

Thanks to the kind folks hosting SkyWatch Friday.

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From July 1 through July 30, 2016, I was the Featured Artist of the Month at the Summer Street Gallery. The Great Blue Heron photographs once again graced the walls of the lobby and theater in a one-woman show at The Center for Arts in Natick. In addition to the visual arts shown at the gallery, TCAN has a lively, dynamic lineup of upcoming performing artists.

A selection of my heron and flower photos is now available at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area.

Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.

Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2017 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking, TCAN

Eat poems for breakfast

“Lie still in a stream and breathe water. Climb to the top
of the highest tree until you come to the branch
where the blue heron sleeps. Eat poems for breakfast…”

Advice to Beginners (excerpt)
Ellen Kort

If I Had My Life to Live Over: I Would Pick More Daisies, Sandra Martz, ed.

Great Blue Heron fishing as the waters descend.

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This week’s photo challenge is descent. This Great Blue Heron frequents these falling waters, fishing for the trout, bass, and pickerel in the pools at the base of the falls. Thanks to Cheri Lucas Rowlands and WordPress for this topic.

Thanks again to Paula for hosting her wonderful Thursday’s Special non-challenge.

Thanks also to Ailsa for hosting her wonderful Weekly Travel Theme: Autumn challenge.

Thanks once again to Stewart Monckton for hosting the Wild Bird Wednesday challenge.

Thanks to the kind folks at Wordless Wednesday for the Wordless Wednesday challenge.

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A selection of my heron and flower photos is now available at the Five Crows Gallery in Natick, MA. Drop in and see the work of the many wonderfully creative artists who show there when you’re in the area.

Five Crows is on FaceBook. To give the gallery a visit, please click here.

Remember: Walk softly and carry a long lens.™

The Tao of Feathers™

© 2014 Babsje. (https://babsjeheron.wordpress.com)

Great Blue Heron, Kayaking