Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Wetland and Heron

A year ago, walking through a farmland-turned-development near my house as dusk was approaching. As I walked in one direction, two women were walking toward me. I was watching them approach when I saw something with huge wings glide by right behind them at head height. Whatever it was landed in a marshy patch of knee-high weeds to my right. The women never even noticed it. My mind raced to name it: an eagle? a hawk? an owl? I walked forward, straining to see into the tall grasses on my right. As I came abreast of them, I saw a lanky, long-billed bird standing there: a heron.
http://www.tikalpark.com/images/pictures/bare-throated-tiger-heron.jpg
Returning from my walk, I looked up Heron as a totem and found it held balance, independence and fierce aggressiveness, and read this advice: "You know what is best for you and you should follow that path. Be aggressive when opportunities present themselves - don't let them get away from you."

Tonight, I walked that same route. I noticed they've built houses around the space where I saw Heron. My heart broke when I realized the marshy suburban wetland where Heron stood waiting for me was now a man-made grassy hillock. Achingly, I apologized for what we allowed to be done to Heron's small wetland space.

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