The Elusive Egret

One incredibly beautiful morning on my drive to work - you know, the kind of morning where the sun softly bleeds through the trees, producing a thousand tiny rays of enchanting golden light and you feel as if something magical is taking place - something caught my eye on the passenger's side of the road.  It was an egret standing in a still pond of water, the color of his plumage starkly contrasting the dark hue of his surroundings and a delicate decaying tree served as his backdrop.  In short, my photographer's eye immediately decided it was a perfect sight to photograph.  This was also a morning - of course - that I chose to leave my camera at home.  Don't you just hate that?!

For 6 months, I have carried with me a mental photograph of that egret, and for 6 months, the egret has stubbornly refused to recreate my mental photograph...until this morning.  This particular morning was incredibly hazy, and while I had half given up on the egret's return, I halfheartedly looked over at the pond and decaying tree, expecting to be disappointed yet again.  And there he was!  While he wasn't standing in the pond, he was handsomely perched in the tree.  I didn't complain.  I took several images of him with his reflection, but the pond was rippling in the gentle breeze, so I opted to crop out the reflection.  Isn't he beautiful?  This is just a quick edit - I'm definitely not through with him.

Thank you, Mr. Egret, for some peace of mind.  Now to capture you again, but in that beautiful morning light...