Spending Time With The Egrets!

   As usual, I headed to the pier before dawn to get a "catch" of my sanity.  It seems that time spent there watching the sunrise can bring an inner peace that cannot be found elsewhere.  After that half-hour of time contemplating the day behind and the day to come, I am ready to move onward.  The tranquility sets the pace for the day.  

  While the sunrise was gorgeous, the later moments were even more exhilarating.   The sun was well above the horizon when I turned to head back up the pier to the Little Bayou House.   Just as I was reaching the "cut" (a small wallow in the marsh where we shelter the skiff during storms), several snowy egrets decided to come to breakfast.  Thousands of small bull minnows were trapped in the shallows so the birds would eat well.  My walk was instantly halted.  It was time to enjoy nature at its fullest!  Sitting down on the pier, my photo session with the birds started.  As time went by, more egrets joined our party until there were 15 snowies and 1 great egret in the group.  The birds paid no attention to me even though they fully aware of my presence.  They were simply engrossed in feasting on the minnows.  

  Needless to say, my time on the pier went well past the usual time limit and nigh on 50 photographs were taken of the lovely birds.  For the rest of the day, my thoughts were on the unlikely encounter and, even more, unlikely interaction.  It was time well-spent, as far as I am concerned.