among the gray...

it was a Charlotte Brontë dreary gray kind of day

                so after breakfast we headed over to 

                       

 Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

              

southern Washington near Kelso and Longview 
on the Columbia River just north of Portland Oregon

the refuge is a 4 mile auto tour around the little lakes and ponds 
speed limit ~ very very slow 

          turtle-ing along .. we saw so many beautiful birds 
                  

     and my favorite .. swans 

there must have been at least 500 out there

if you were born without wings

do nothing to prevent them from growing

>>.. Coco Chanel  

the earth has music for those who listen

>>.. George Santayana

the reason birds can fly 

and we can't 

is simply because they have perfect faith

for to have faith is to have wings

>>..  J.M. Barrie  {author of Peter Pan}

in order to see birds 

it is necessary 

to become a part of the silence

>>.  Robert Lynd

and this little guy was the favorite of the day

... American Bittern ... 

he is a stocky fellow in the heron family

so well camouflaged in the dense reeds we could hardly see him.  

As soon as he knew he was found out he hid so you could see 

nothing but his striped head which he pointed up

disappearing and out of sight.

truly a fabulous trip .. we love the wildlife refuges

          a delightfully fun inexpensive day 

                               even among murky gray skies.

I hope you enjoyed it too ..........