With A Swish…

We hunt with cameras – my husband and I. (Not that we are against guns, or have not had venison in the freezer many times.) But, when we walk together, we hunt with cameras. One such adventure is the Story Behind the Painting, Caught By Surprise!

For several days we had spotted ducks in our pond, only to see them fly away before we got very close. Steve devised a plan to sneak up on them. The next morning, we left the path and swung wide to walk through high grass to the back side of the dam. Quietly making our way up the grassy hill to come out behind mesquite for camouflage, we peeked out to see, not 10 or 20, but 75 to 100 assorted types of ducks enjoying our pond! As the clicks of our cameras alerted them, they began leaving in groups, rising up over us in a swish of wind, wings and whistling sounds. It was a magical moment!

I watched them take flight. It seemed like chaos with their first lift-off, but they quickly retreated into line formations and soared in sync to the next body of water. Some small groups lingered a little longer in our waterhole, but then left together, following the path of the others. And then the pond was empty. The water stilled. The sky was open. And the moment was gone.

Photographs and Paintings — our way to hold on to the magical moment, just a little while longer!