Snowy egret, Tomball Texas, June, 2022


My father passed away in June this year, a month before he would have turned 90.  I was in Tomball, a satellite community of Houston, Texas, to visit with him and my brother.  I was only with him for a little over 24 hours when he passed away.  While it was very sad, I had to be thankful that I was there when it happened.

I went for a lot of walks afterwards.  I find being outdoors cathartic; even more so when I am carrying a camera.  I visited many parks on my sojourn, both to photograph wildlife and meditate on my dad's passing.  I managed to get quite a few quality shots; the one above is a favourite.  

It turns out there is a wonderful loop around a retention pond behind where my brother lives.  The paved path has a lot of pedestrian traffic and the birds in the area are acclimated to people.  While strolling the kilometer-long trail I photographed herons, cormorants, ducks, egrets, sparrows, shrikes, bluebirds, magpies, and even a few turtles.  On other walks further afield I captured images of a lesser-blue heron, a yellow-crowned night heron, and a cardinal.

One of my dad's favourite activities was walking.  He was never really interested in wildlife but took great joy in his wanderings wherever he happened to be.  He had dogs years ago and he would go on long walks with them, often several times a day.  I always enjoyed joining him on these adventures.  I think that's another reason why I like going for a stroll so much; it reminds me of him and our times together.  Him with his dog, and me with my camera.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com


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