Beautiful blue heron

It was a blustery day today, as Disney's version of Winnie the Pooh used to say. And there, standing quite calmly by the side of the lake, was a big, beautiful blue heron. I got within 10 feet of him, but no closer as I didn't want to scare him away. Previous heron sightings have always been across the water, and hard to see. This one was right at the lake edge by the path. AND he was not standing stock still, as I've always seen him before, but walking up and down, checking everything out.

Met up with Ed, who saw the snow goose on the Lullwater. Nice to know it is staying around. While talking, we saw a flying swan high overhead. It was moving way too fast for me to get a picture. We're not sure if it was a local or visiting swan. Quite possibly visiting, since it was very high up and headed out of the park. Maybe a visitor from Gateway, where I hear they also have swans.

I am pleased to report that Anne-Katrin is one of the 20 finalists in the Brooklyn Do-Gooder contest. Now a panel will select the top 5 Do-Gooders. Other Park people that we talked to think that the ultimate choices will be political decisions. Anne-Katrin, like so many of us who report on what's going on in the Park, is often regarded as a bit of a trouble-maker, so we are not optimistic about her winning. That's as nice a way as I can possibly put it.

I got a comment about the "birders vs. dog-lovers" disagreement that I mentioned the other day. Full disclosure: I am a dog owner and a member of FIDO. I never had much interest in bird-watching, although that is changing, what with the excitement of all the swans, geese, ducks, herons, etc. in the Park. I hear (rumor, innuendo and hearsay dept.) that some of the birders really hate the dog people. Hope that's not true. I really feel that there's plenty of room for all of us to enjoy the park.

Unfortunately, these big vehicles I saw the other day were not doing the landscaping that I had hoped. They just made room for big storage containers to be parked in the woods rather than on the road. I really hate the way plants are always the first thing to be sacrificed in the name of.....??? organization ??? efficiency ??? what ??? wouldn't it be nice if sometime concrete was the first thing to be sacrificed?