Great Egret under a golden sunrise

One born and raised within the asphalt and concrete confines of the city may regard my morning walks here on the unfinished roadway as devoid of meaning. Even the warbling song of the White-eyed Vireo seems to repeatedly ask "Wat-cha doin' here, eh?" 



To me, the vireo's faint lilting lullaby and its shadow as it moves among the branches take center stage over the cacophony of jet planes, garbage trucks and lawn mowers just on the other side of the canal. 

This is land that was intended to be put to a better purpose, a four lane parkway meant to hasten the trip to work for thousands of commuters every weekday. Now it sits, fallow, victim of land disputes and budget deficits. Useless and without value to so many and the institutions they support.

We walked out before sunrise. Last night, about 11 hours earlier, the Wolf Moon had risen over our lake:







Now finished with its work of lighting the night, the first moon of the new year is ready to retire behind the palm trees as we walk in semi-darkness over the rough gravel roadbed, westward into our little patch of wounded wilderness.





The sky turns golden. It is the time to photograph the white birds with the new rays slanting in sideways. Later in the day the rays will be white on white, and the brilliance of their feathers will overwhelm my camera's sensors and algorithms.



A Great Egret sits, placid as it watches the water's surface for the least ripple:



It moves down, to wade in the shallows:





Maintenance of plumage is a high priority:



The reflection of a wing sculpts a scallop shell on the surface:



The egret moves off to better feeding grounds:




The sun is high as I walk homeward, to pass from the world on the other side of the canal. Two different worlds, one fenced in, whose residents view the opposite shore of the canal as a backdrop for lawn parties and BBQs, and call Animal Control at the first sight of an alligator. The other is the wounded wetland preserve that we cherish.



Linking to

Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

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Please visit the above links to all these memes to see great photos of critters, fences, skies and reflections on display
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