Blog de Puree

Although I am up and out of the house at the crack of dawn each morning, and the traffic on the way to work has somehow magically increased at that hour, there is something to be said for being up so early. I’ll often run into unexpected surprises that help me get through long days and long commutes.

This morning, as I was driving up Madison Street and passing a small pond (20 feet by 60 feet) next to a neighbor’s house, I spotted a great blue heron standing on a small patch of grass eyeballing what would no doubt be its breakfast, be it fish or frog. As my car approached, it raised it’s head and starting eyeballing me!

The heron turned its head to watch me as I slowly drove by, affording me a brilliant close-up view of a bird that is often skittish in the wild and flies off in an instant. A mere 8 feet away, we stared at each other as I passed and I had the feeling it was sizing me up as a possible threat–as any wild creature would. However, I had seen it at the pond before and couldn’t help wondering if this heron would be a regular and was determining what in its adopted habitat could be trusted. If that’s the case, I hope it got a solid look at my face (and I’m glad I didn’t crash my car, my eyes not remaining on the road) so that it might remember me if I happened that way again on foot.

My new morning friend is not the only feathered denizen in the little pond. It is also a temporary watering hole for some local mallard ducks in the area. Driving by, I often see a small handful floating around, doing what ducks do. Whatever that is.

Randye and I are learning that our neck of the woods is a diverse ecosystem, as we have encountered at least 20 bird species and at least two handfuls of mammals that call Amesbury home. Living in the middle of such a rich natural area, despite it being fairly populated, makes the tedious commute quite worth it.