Harried Heron~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life

Doesn’t appreciate the prickly bird guard.

But herons,

are not deterred,

by thorns.

They dance on them!

Other critters,

will shy away,

but herons are here to stay!

Cheers to you from the thorn dancing egrets~

Note: Snowy Egrets are members of the Heron family.

244 thoughts on “Harried Heron~”

  10. Hi Cindy, Now how did you know I was looking for photo references of Heron’s & Egrets for an oil painting I want to do of marshes? I was just going to do the marsh, then an idea came to me to “try” to put in a suggestion of at least one of these birds. I do not copy photo for my paintings, for landscapes, just use my imagination (however birds, animals, people, are different. Would you mind if I used your photos to get a suggestion of the heron for my painting? your photography as always is just stunning!

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  17. There is a life lesson here, Cindy. May we learn to dance in difficult situations with the grace and elegance of the Heron. Wonderful captures that made me day beautiful. Hugs!

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    1. Thanks much. I call herons dinosaur birds because once a Great Blue Heron shocked me unexpectedly when I opened our front door. My stunned brain couldn’t immediately process what was standing there, and informed me there was a ‘dino at my door’. It was so large up close and shockingly unexpected. It took a second or two for my stunned brain to figure out it was a very tall great blue heron! 😉

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    1. Yes, they do, all herons do too. Sometimes they show up close and personal which is always surprising, but has happened all my life, in different places. Herons fly where they want to, lucky birds. Kiss your new grandbaby for me დ

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      1. Cool, Cindy. I think there is a resident blue heron down by our lake park. Only see him in the summer if we’re lucky. Standing on one leg. Posing for photos. Kisses await the visit of our granddaughter! Enjoy the weekend. oxox დ

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    1. This is so amazing you mentioned this! We are in the midst of planning a trip back to Quebec in September. I abosolutely want to visit this park. We are planning to stay in Montreal and then rent a cabin in the wilderness. How long is the drive to the park from Montreal? დ

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    1. Sigh….. So sorry. WP likes to cut off my followers and hope they don’t notice. I think they like to control traffic. So happy to have you back my friend & cheers to you დ

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      1. Why are you always discouraging me!?! Also, why is it amusing to both of us? You always find a way… Booger, you keep seeing the holes in my plots 😀 Well, Murph is more of a room service individual. He does not need to work hard & is fully aware of this. He barely climbs his Valentine’s day pillow I bought for him!! Murph could do what he does best, charm them with his zen and handsomeness… so that I may then pat & make boing these beautiful creatures upon their adorable little legs. Tee hee

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        1. Cracking up….. Murph is truly the ultimate Lizard King! (I am not going to tell Penelope my bearded grand-dragon this. It would spoil her day and provoke familial arguments). Clearly, all others are mere wanna-be-Murph-imitators, poor little lizzies! 😉 😉 დ

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  83. Wonderful.
    “Un héron au long bec emmanché d’un long coup…” The start of a La Fontaine fable. Not too sure how to translate it but it would go like this:
    A heron of the long beak at the (very) end of a long neck… Doesn’t sound that good in English… LOL
    Great pictures nonetheless.

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    1. I know this and love it! It captures the haughty heron’s murderous grace perfectly:

      “A long-legged Heron, with long neck and beak,
      Set out for a stroll by the bank of a creek.
      So clear was the water that if you looked sharp
      You could see the pike caper around with the carp.
      The Heron might quickly have speared enough fish
      To make for his dinner a capital dish.
      But he was a very particular bird:
      His food fixed “just so,” at the hours he preferred.
      And hence he decided ’twas better to wait,
      Since his appetite grew when he supped rather late.
      Pretty soon he was hungry, and stalked to the bank.
      Where some pondfish were leaping–a fish of low rank.
      “Bah, Bah!” said the Bird. “Sup on these? No–not I.
      I’m known as a Heron: as such I live high.”
      Then some gudgeon swam past that were tempting to see,
      But the Heron said hautily: “No–not for me.
      For those I’d not bother to open my beak,
      If I had to hang ’round come next Friday a week.”
      Thus bragged the big Bird. But he’s bound to confess
      That he opened his elegant beak for much less.
      Not another fish came. When he found all else fail,
      He was happy to happen upon a fat snail.”

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          1. Interesting that La Fontaine should be studied in your neck of the woods. To me, it is so Franco-French… And I had not though of Kipling. You have a point there… I wonder whether Kipling spoke French? Many English did then…

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            1. He did speak French. He took an ‘interlude’ in the midst of his school years and spent time in France, learned the language and attended The World’s Fair in Paris of 1878 which lasted for many months. Wouldn’t you like to beam back and visit him in Paris!

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  84. Stunning photos, Cindy! The sheer white of the feathers is astonishing and amazing how you’ve been able to capture their fine feathery adornment in detail! I love their dance on thorns – they have much to teach us in life! Xx

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  86. Deborah

    Will you be getting any rain or snow into The Holler? The heron at the top of the post seems all poofed out.

    We experienced disappearing followers a couple of weeks ago. We knew who, so we fixed it ourselves. WP seems they’re incapable of fixing the issue that may be behind it, or they’re deliberately doing it themselves.

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    1. Yes, we are getting slammed with storms which is great. We are skiing now and I haven’t seen storms like this in California. It is wonderful for the state but also quite intense. Your Dad says somw of your family are in SoCal about now, so I am sure you are familiar with the ongoing storms. WP deletes followers period. It is still happening to me and to others. It is similar to less than transparent vendors selling things who make consistent accounting “mistakes” in their own favor. You note, over time, the errors are always to their financial benefit, not visa versa. When you point this out, they say, “Ooops, I charged you too much again, SORRY!” WP deleting followers frees up space. Blogs are WP apartment renters. Some blogs are apartments that keep getting larger, deleting followers is the WP solution to curtail the trend. They should just be up front about it. Offer a fee for blogs that grow past their preferences. I don’t appreciate the lack of transparency. So sorry this is happening to you too. Take good care & stay dry and warm დ

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        1. I just took some photos. More than I have ever seen on our nearby mountains and so low in elevation. And more storms are coming. We were skiing. The blizzards are still coming. The Sierras will be open for skiing probably until July. დ

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  92. Dear Cindy
    GREAT pictures of the heron 👍 👍
    Funny that we posted heron pictures at the same time.
    Keep well and happy
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  95. Wow – so many Likes and comments. Excellent clicks of these savage beauties. What camera and lens you using? Also welcome to visit my travel & lifestyle blog :). Thanks. Bliss.

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