One of the great privileges and pleasures of living on the Gulf of Mexico is the terrific bird life that inhabit our shorelines. The graceful Great Blue Heron is one such character. But you can imagine my surprise to learn that a small town in New York State has its own Blue Heron Music Festival on July 4th each year: Sherman, N.Y. Lake Erie is this Yankee town’s ocean. Hey, maybe Pensacola needs a southern version of the Blue Heron Music Festival! Hmmmm…
Learn all about the ubiquitous Great Blue Heron on the Cornell Ornithology website. And here from the Poetry Foundation website: Carolyn Kizer’s soulful poem, The Great Blue Heron. And now that your whistle is whetted for poetry, go on to Poetry Outloud and listen to the great poets of our time reading their own and their favorite poets’ poems outloud.
And, like a good meander on the crystal white sands of my hometown beaches, I’ve taken you on a wander, too.
Susan Feathers 