Grand Daddy

As I was driving home on River Road, this heron was sunning himself on a rock in the middle of the river.  Of course my pulling over rather abruptly made him take flight and I suspect he felt quite hidden in this little spot.  He probably stood about 8 feet tall (okay maybe 4) but he was a good sized specimen and his wing span gave Michael Jordan something to be worried about.  

As I sit here late on Wednesday, the day before the 4th, at 22:30, fireworks are going off in the houses nearby.  Soon the train whistle will blow as some of the town fathers cruise around all night in remembrance of the days gone by when there was a train that ran through town and brought tourists from Boston and New York for clean air and fly fishing.  I guess there was a grand hotel in town too which was destroyed in a fire and the train stopped many years ago, but it's always a treat to be wakened with the sound of the whistle on July 3rd.