Ramble with Storm: Mysteries of May

Mulling things on my morning ramble

with Storm, the family’s mixed Lab.

The great egret lifted, that’s the right word, from the far edge of the town pond as Storm and I rambled up this morning.

Starkly white, like a starched sheet, it lifted against the greening background of the row of Osage orange trees.

In the decade or so, I have circled the town pond with our family dogs, I don’t remember seeing an egret before.

Great blue herons? Yes, especially in spring and fall, hunting fish at the bridge neckdown. Egrets? No.

So it was a treat.

In the spring and fall, I regularly see ducks I can’t identify instantly. Sometimes, I come back with a camera and binoculars to see if I can figure them out.

Egrets are a bit more obvious.

Something had the Canada geese riled. On both sides of the town pond, they milled around raising a fuss. Maybe it was the egret.

The sloppy weather–puddles to sidestep around the pond, 1.6 inches in my rain gauge–made Storm hyper, Lab-loopy I call it, and he charged repeatedly into the water.

Steam rolled off the town pond. Either it was colder than I thought, or the town pond held its heat better than I would have expected after a string of mornings in the 30s and 40s.

Rain kept steady, but light.

Summer comes, I think.