When I’m out and about I quite often see a heron, or THE heron as we tend to refer to him, assuming it is always the same one. We also call him Mr Heron and recently the smallest grandson has taken to calling him Herry. He’s often to be spotted in or around one of the millponds.
Lately we’ve seen him perched on the railings of a small bridge, close to the weir, a bridge leading to a house on the other side of the river.
And last week we saw him perched on the wooden fencing of the verandah of that very house.
We have joked about his maybe preferring to stand on the railings rather than get feet wet. Yesterday we were able to get really close to him as he perched on the small bridge - clearly a heron who knows no fear.
We went on our way and commented to a nodding acquaintance coming in the opposite direction that she should look out for him. She told us that recently she had seen the people who live close to the bridge feeding the heron with small fish! Apparently the occupants of the houses on both sides of the river, including those whose verandah the heron stands on, take it in turns to feed him twice a day. That would explain his willingness to let people get close to him. It must be easier than standing on the stones of the weir hoping to catch a fish for himself.
The person who told us this tale speculated that maybe the people who feed the heron do so to prevent him from eating ducklings. For I have been told on several,occasions that they are partial to baby ducklings. One of my acquaintances even told me, in tones of disgust, that they don’t really eat whole duckling but just disembowel them and eat their vital organs!
You could go off herons with their rather cruel-looking beaks! They look a little like a throw-back to an earlier bit of natural history. And yet they are quite majestic.mWhen they take flight you can almost see the direct line to the pterodactyl!
We also look out for deer when we are out and about but they are much more elusive.
I came across this article about right-wingers in the USA who are convinced that Barack and Michelle Obama are on the brink of divorce! It’s strange how so many people become obsessed with the lives of the rich and famous.
Followers of musicians and singers on Facebook are constantly posting photos of their idols. They must spend great lengths of time trawling through the internet for photos of Bruce Springsteen as a child, as a schoolboy, as a teenager, looking romantically at Patti Scialfa or looking admiringly at his daughter. Somehow they find photos of the children and grandchildren of Roy Orbison. Surely they should just be listening to the music!
It’s always gone on, I suppose. Biographers have told us all sorts of details,about the life of Shakespeare and how he left his second best bed to Anne Hathaway, despite leaving her in Stratford with the children while he beetled of to London to be a playwright. Now this article suggests that they had it wrong and that in fact she moved to London with him. All those experts may have to change their minds!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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