One of Life's Little Moments...

I was in a bit of a funk today, so finally decided to give up on work and take a walk over at the state park. The weather is beautiful and quite warm for a fall day, so it was a nice day to be outside. I have some favorite trails that I like to walk, including one that winds along a stream and eventually gets to a small lake. As I was walking along, I happened to glance through the trees and cattails and this is what I saw!! Be still my heart! I've seen semi-tame herons at the golf course, but never in the wild, so it was quite a thrill. I think vodkaman would have been quite proud to see me creeping through the undergrowth with great stealth, finally ending up crouched in the reeds with my knees in the muck.

Once I'd gotten a zillion shots (most of them rubbish) I headed to another favorite trail where I came across a tiny little bird which I believe is a ruby-crowned kinglet. This little one was quite hidden in a thicket of growth and I found myself, once again, kneeling in the muck to get a shot. Even then, I had to crop the hell out of it just so you can see that it's a bird. Ah, what we do for our shots...

I also saw some interesting pods and seed thingies (technical term, sorry.)

And, now I am getting ready to put some no-knead bread in the oven to go along with a bowl of portabella/bison chili.