Woody Fails To Show...

   Yesterday, on my early morning walk, I spotted a white form across the pond, walking slowly in the water along the bank. Every once in a while, he, or she, would stop and lower his beak down into the water and wait for a few seconds before moving on.

   I thought from the size that it was a wood stork, as I had seen a couple of them in that area over the past few days.

   But it was pretty dark. I could barely see the big bird in the shadows. How in the world could he see anything in that murky water? It did not appear to be a profitable venture in that before-dawn light.

   So I went back home and Googled him, finding out that wood storks, a lot of the time, just put their open beaks down into the water and wait for small fish to swim by and stir the water. Then they snap them shut and, breakfast.

   But Woody was not evident this morning. I had carried my camera and was ready to catch him in the act. What had happened?

   It was pretty early, about the same time I had been out yesterday.

   The only things on the water were reflections.

   Maybe he had noticed the sign.

   Perhaps he was hiding out in the marsh fog, shyly waiting for me to leave.

   Regardless, he was a no-show, and I had to use a stock picture from the Internet to chronicle the story.

   And I learned something about a big bird's fishing occupation.

   God has made some interesting characters, and some of them live around here.