Morning Find
Everyone has a favorite time of the day. Many love colorful sunsets, others the celestial display as darkness settles in for an overnight stay.
My father introduced the boys in our family to the joys of the dark hours of early dawn. It was a time of quietness on our farm, a brief interlude between our abruptly waking up to the strong call of Dad, but before the livestock realized we were coming.
Once they glimpsed our trudging steps toward the barn, the morning quietness was broken by the moos of the cows, grunts from the pigs, and a few cackles from hens who had no idea what was going on but wanted to be involved.
Today, over 75 years later, I still love to get up early to explore the early morning habits of wildlife. This Great Blue Heron holds a commanding presence in the pre-dawn. His tall, slender frame covered with a steel-gray plumage stands out in contrast to the dark background.
A tincture of early morning light glances off the heron, outlining its body and illuminating its yellow eyes as it cranks up its energy for another day of tracking the movements of fish, frogs, or other aquatic creatures lurking below the surface of the water.
It is eating for more than just the day, though, as it stocks up for a solitary migratory flight to the Gulf Coast, Florida, or even Central America in a matter of weeks.
The water-logged branch it stands on will then be vacant until next spring, when the ice thaws and the heron returns to Minnesota to start the whole cycle again.
(Photographed near Cambridge, MN)
Morning Find
Everyone has a favorite time of the day. Many love colorful sunsets, others the celestial display as darkness settles in for an overnight stay.
My father introduced the boys in our family to the joys of the dark hours of early dawn. It was a time of quietness on our farm, a brief interlude between our abruptly waking up to the strong call of Dad, but before the livestock realized we were coming.
Once they glimpsed our trudging steps toward the barn, the morning quietness was broken by the moos of the cows, grunts from the pigs, and a few cackles from hens who had no idea what was going on but wanted to be involved.
Today, over 75 years later, I still love to get up early to explore the early morning habits of wildlife. This Great Blue Heron holds a commanding presence in the pre-dawn. His tall, slender frame covered with a steel-gray plumage stands out in contrast to the dark background.
A tincture of early morning light glances off the heron, outlining its body and illuminating its yellow eyes as it cranks up its energy for another day of tracking the movements of fish, frogs, or other aquatic creatures lurking below the surface of the water.
It is eating for more than just the day, though, as it stocks up for a solitary migratory flight to the Gulf Coast, Florida, or even Central America in a matter of weeks.
The water-logged branch it stands on will then be vacant until next spring, when the ice thaws and the heron returns to Minnesota to start the whole cycle again.
(Photographed near Cambridge, MN)