Heron in a Tree

So. We were walking up our path along the edge of the hayfield and I saw a great blue heron flying across the field up ahead of us. I presumed it was headed to the farm pond we always walk past, so I looked as we passed it and - yup, there it was on the far side of the pond. I took a photo, but it was along way away so I didn't expect much. We walked, as we do, up to the end of the dirt road, turned around and headed back the way we came. Passing the pond again I looked to see if it was still there and suddenly up it flew. I expected it to be flying away, back the way it had come from earlier. But no! Instead it flew right up to the top of a pine tree and landed. The tree sort of went *boing* as if it was going to catapult the heron back off again, but it hung on and ended up standing there atop the now bent tip of the tree. So here's one of my shots of it standing there.

The extra is a wider shot of the same.