Great Egret

I have a yearly ritual to celebrate the end of summer (which, BTW I absolutely HATE to see go...). I go down to the Russian River where it passes through the tiny used-to-be Northern California town of Asti and observe the wildlife, dangle my feet in the water and take photographs. When I went down the day before these photos were taken, there was a gorgeous blue heron walking around just where the egret in these photos was; however, it was too dark for my photos to come out well. That's okay -- I'll settle for the egret. :o)