What a Thrilling Morning....

....spent at the Emerald Preserve, watching the AOG'S "Run and Fly" event on the Olympic Pond! It was overcast and cool, which may account for the low number of spectators, but it was a bonus for me because I had a primo spot for watching the action! In the center image you can see "DC" Cormorant ("DC" being short for Double Crested) testing the wind and deciding in which direction to perform his run-on- the-water, prior to take-off. When he suddenly lifted his body from the water and began his run, it was a thing of beauty!! Such elegance, such balance, & such perfectly spaced web-prints on top of the water! And his lift-off was so perfectly timed and beautifully fluid that I knew he'd score well. When the final scores came up on the board, DC came away with the silver medal, losing by only .2 of a point to Andy Anhinga, whose lift off included a double roll-over---a move he himself invented, & never before seen in competition! The crowd went wild & I was cheering so loudly my voice is almost gone!! I can't wait to see what events I'll be able to sneak into attend tomorrow!   :))