Gifted

Even after hundreds of floats in my slightly discolored, slightly misshapen inner tube, few things bring me such peace. It’s been in the 90°s here and I’ve been working outdoors. After a hot workday, cooling my limbs off while gently carried along in a slow-flowing river is exquisite. Encountering a few other beings seeking refuge only adds to the delight. And if they aren’t noisy humans (with noisy mechanisms) disrupting the serenity of the moment, for me, it’s as good as it gets.

​I happened to notice the female yellow-crowned heron in the branches of the tree on the right. We eyed each other as I drifted past. I’d already passed a couple of males upstream. It occurred to me the setting sun might make a nice counterpoint to the bird’s silhouetted form in the branches. So, unusually, I managed to quietly back-paddle with my hands against the current, toward where she was perched. Though she watched me warily, and hopped within the branches a bit, fortunately I didn’t scare her off. As I worked to hold my place paddling with one hand and fumbling for my phone with the other, clouds wafted in front of the golden sun, and I felt further lucky.
 
I snapped a few photos, let go of resisting the flow, and as I drifted downstream, contentedly absorbed the whole shimmering scene. The vast 60 foot piers of the Elm Avenue Bridge framed it all even as I felt everything (including me) merge into the gorgeous and ever-mysterious unfolding. Gifted beyond words to be part of it all.