03 Blessed State of Mind

Blessed State of Mind

Carlos Avery is a vast seemingly waste land that the DLNR has set aside for conservation purposes. I have wandered many hours in this prairie land during all seasons of the year. Some roads were closed in winter due to heavy snow, but when they opened up in Spring I would be delighted to explore the new possibilities of photographing some rare wildflowers. On one such Spring afternoon, I came upon a Snowy Egret in a field away from the mud road. I paused for a while gathered my camera bag and headed towards the bird. In the past they have eluded me, flying away even if I as much as turned my camera towards them. It was strange that day that the Egret made no effort to fly or move even when I was within a full frame distance with my 200MM Nikon (full frame) lens. I paused and shot several images with every pause, since I was not sure how long this beauty of a bird would tolerate my approach. When I was too close with my 200MM lens, I changed it to a 35-75 medium zoom and shot a few. When I was within a few feet from it I changed to a 100 mm Macro lens and shot some close up shots of the beak. After a while I left my camera bag in the field and inched closer until I was within touching distance. The bird did not move. I sat there for I don’t remember how long, savoring the closeness of this wild bird. Then I reached out and touched it on tits back. The bird stood there as if mesmerized. Seeing that it was not entangled in some wire or snare, I backed away as slowly as I approached. I said good bye and came home in a blessed state of mind.

Later I recounted this story to a DLNR friend and mentioned how lucky I was. He agreed that I was very lucky but for a different reason. He recounted the story of an Indian boy who wandered away in Denali Park, Alaska. The search party found him just a few feet away from a walking trail with a beak of an Egret pierced into the eye all the way to the brain. They were both dead.

I have often wondered if I was lucky or blessed. For an unknown reason I have concluded that I was blessed that day.