Early Morning Rivers Edge

……….a “big” fish glides through the Lily pads disturbing the smooth water with its wake. The “little” fish break the surface as he nears them creating a silver wave of fish and water spray to herald his coming. The anglers further up the shore line might want to make their way towards shallower water on this morning.

There are plenty of sounds this morning to keep me company. The rumble of a distant barge as it muscles its way up stream. Bird calls both familiar and strange waft across the back waters, creating a cacophony of songs as they tangle and twist together. A bull frog bellows from deep in the reeds, followed by the sound of the air horn at the Lock and Dam. Echoing the bullfrogs call it signals the release of a group of power boats from the temporary confines of the lock. They race away at full throttle in hopes of arriving at the best spot first to cast for the illusive Large Mouth Bass so prized in the local tournaments.

Suddenly the relative calm is broken by an unfamiliar sound. It is the slapping of Pelican webbed feet slamming against the surface of the river as they pull away from the waters grip. They lift free of the water effortlessly breaking the hold of gravities pull to form an undulating vortex of white and black as they ride the thermals above the river.