Very cool seeing the heron family!

I agree, the young herons are icing on the cake.
Very lucky to get that.

That's a great emotionally satisfying shot, with the birds on the horizon.
I'm amazed you were able to capture such diverse shots of animals, the turtle, the babies. Varied, fun, and a great tale.
Here, not far from you, our lake has been drained this year so the dam can be rebuilt. They are almost done, I went on a 2 hour bike ride to check it all out day before yesterday.
They drained the lake for the very year I had to heal my broken humerus.
Some may call this co-incidence. I call it synchronicity.

My little thrift store kayak is hanging up, waiting.

I love turtles!

and what wildlife! Glad you had your camera with you.

I just go off the river myself and we saw deer this morning! Bonus!

NRaleighLiberal, you live a beautiful life!

but we do try to find beauty in nature, do stuff that interests us, and it helps us get over the bumps. Each day I do recognize that I am a pretty lucky person, though!

if we recognize and embrace what is truly important. I'm not going to worry about you any more--you've got it down!

which Canon Powershot model do you have?

has a better zoom, but not as good a macro. I kind of alternate use of both. Often take the older one on the kayak - flipped once and killed my first Powershot!