Although this is another somewhat atypical post, I had to share this information.
I believe in energies, spirits, metaphysical being, and all sorts of "things" that are not exactly explainable by science. Those of you who are reading this and have had conversations with me about any of these juicy topics know that I thoroughly enjoy this discussion. Maybe those people have also heard me talk about the Blue Heron and how I see it to be what I call my "spirit animal". Let me explain.
To begin, never have I been able to capture an image of the Blue Heron that I was truly happy with. Some how, some
way,
some thing always prevents me from capturing the great shot. Most of the time the cause is the bird flying away before I am close enough or even ready to take a picture. When I am hiking on a trail that winds around and has several blind corners, I often find myself turning a corner only to see a Blue Heron gracefully leaping and flying away from my next destination. Sometimes the cause is the equipment -- either I have the wrong lens, the camera is not working for some reason, or I did not even bring a camera at all. Sometimes the cause is something that perhaps I foresaw but decided to act a different way, and sometimes the cause is nearly unexplainable.
I was in a park in Berea, Ohio at one of the small lakes they have within their portion of the Cleveland Metroparks. Navigating my way to the end of the lake where the small stream trickled into the main body of water, I found some dragonflies to photograph. While taking macro photographs of a dragonfly, a Blue Heron swooped down and landed no more than 30 feet away.
This was it! This was the moment that I would finally get the shot I had been striving for!
Letting the Heron get settled, I slowly slipped into position while acting like I was not paying attention to the entity across the water. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, two kayakers stroll up close to the bank, heading in the direction of the Heron. Intently locking eyes with the men at the helm of these vessels, I attempted to convey to them what I was doing. One guy got the hint, and the other responded by saying "I'm gonna see how close I can get." Nevertheless, the Blue Heron flew away and into the opposite direction. The man turned to me and said "Did you get that?!?!"
When I pursued and repositioned myself for more photographs, the same man had already turned around and came back. He again turned to me and said "I'm really gonna dig in now" while scaring the bird away one last time. Thanks buddy. Now I have never, ever
, ever seen a kayak on the water at this place. Where the hell did these guys come from? When it happened, because I was so used to similar occurrences, I have to say I was not surprised. This story really is only one instance of several occasions where similar things have happened.
The Blue Heron always seems to be one step ahead of me. To me, it has always signified the ever-so-elusive goal that I can never reach; the humble reminder that although I may be on the right path, I need to work even harder to get to that destination early enough to reap the rewards. For that reason it has always held a special place in my mind.
A friend of mine, Michelle, recently told me about a book called Animal Speak, which talks about animals and what they signify if present in your life. Below is the summary of the Blue Heron that was electronically provided to me. Some may think this is a load of garbage, but I believe in these type of things.
Keynote: Aggressive Self-Determination and Self-Reliance
Cycle of Power:Spring
- Herons are part of a group called "waders" a bird of shallow waters and marshlands
- Focusing on the actual body image ie.long thin legs, long necks and sharp bills, helps to understand what the animal is all about....for the legs -the longer they are the deeper they can go in the water to feed, and deeper life can be explored. Important to note you don't need massive pillars to remain stable, but you must be able to stand on your own....be a lone hunter
- When it feeds it stands in the water, reflecting the connection to the earth. While implying the exploration of other dimensions on the earth(water element)...may seem like dabbling but people with this totem are often "jack of all trades" --this ability helps you to follow your own path, solve problems and do a variety of different tasks
- Heron people do not need a lot of people in their life, nor will they feel a need to keep up with the Joneses
- "They stand out in their uniqueness, and they know how to snatch and take advantage of things and events that the average person would not even bother with."
- S-neck when flying represents being able to maneuver through life and control it's life circumstances...follow your own innate wisdom and path of self-determination...you know what's best for you and you should follow it, rather than the promptings of others.
- The quick speed of its beak when catching prey also reflects aggressive movement toward opportunities that present themselves
- Meditation on the colors of the heron will provide a lot of insight as to its role in your life
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Maybe the only reason I posted that is because it says good things? :)
Here are a couple pictures I have taken of Blue Herons. Some of them may look alright, but only the last one would look decent printed at any size bigger than the images are being displayed on screen.
Above is the first of three pictures I was able to take of the Heron before it was scared away as explained in the story above. Below is a cropped version of one of the remaining two pictures.
One of the dragonflies I was photographing while trying to let the Heron get settled.
Out of the truck window in The Tetons.
The green sign says "safe walk way" and the blue paint says "stay focus blak men"
This is a kitchen.
You can find public telephones in
People have microphones and
Our tour went to a small tea house tucked away in a
But then we all had some tea and fresh roasted coffee
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