First, is this a Great Blue Heron? I think so but if you know for sure, please let me know. Found this fellow standing quiet in the shallows at the Beaver Brook Reservation. Beaver Brook is the first reservation established by the Metropolitan Parks Commission, later the Massachusetts Department of Conservation.
Did you know that Queen Anne’s Lace is also known as wild carrot? So I discovered while reading Peterson’s Guide to Edible Wild Plants. But be careful! Queen Anne’s Lace and poisonous Hemlock look very similar.
On a day when I have spoken with, emailed, texted and chatted with X-number of friends and family who are all going through tough times, it makes me wonder: why not turn the world upside down and shake things up a bit? Sometimes the result can be startling and quite beautiful as in this inverted reflection of the heron, and of grasses in a mountain lake.
And, finally, books. Yes, books. My friend Steve is a complete and utter bibliophile who built his own floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that cover two walls of his living room, and yet he still has books piled high as columns every where. I asked him the other day, if he were traveling indefinitely and could only take three books with him, what would they be? He answered, “Well, two books come to mind right away, the bible and the Joy of Cooking.” When he said he wasn’t sure about the third book and that it would depend on where he was traveling, I added, “Well, let’s say you’re stuck on a deserted island.” He chuckled and said, “Well then that makes it easier. I’d want the third book to be The Manual of Practical Boat Building.”
What books would you choose? Send me a note. I’ll post peoples’ responses in next month’s Words+Images update.
Words + Images 
I might choose my old Boy Scout manual. Lots of info on survival and living in the wild.
I love your photos! Books – sadly, a disappearing attraction in today’s world, casually replaced by video games and social internet sites. But, I still love ’em! Great post! And, I would say the three choices are pretty good!
Looks like a great blue heron to me. I live in NE Maryland. There is a rookery of great blues on an island on the Susquehanna River just east of the Conowingo Dam.
i love the pictures of the great blue heron! what a find! and to get that close to the bird to take those shots, you must have been really quiet. as for books, perhaps buy a kindle and then you have more than 3 options :)…well that’s if you have access to infinite source of batteries.