A day at the river.

This is the mighty Hassyampa river. Down here it is just a stream and this is a long long way yet from the headwaters. This is where we head to when it's too hot at the house to stay. We usually set our chairs in the water where i'm standing and just cool off a while. This spot is just upstream from where the road crosses the river.

Here I'm sitting upstream from the crossing, when a heron came up from downstream and checked us out. I leaned back so Phillip could take this picture of him at the edge of the crossing. Maybe trying to make up his mind if he wanted to continue upstream or not.

He's made up his mind and starts to cross the road and come our way. He's going slow and sneaky, all the time watching up close.

He went to the edge of the crossing and starts toward us. Still moving slow and wary. He crosses the road and starts to pass us not 6 feet away.

Still moving slow and sneaky he moves on past. He keeps us in his beady eyesight all the time. Looks over at us a few times as he passes.

Now he is going under the fence that is just behind us. Not 4 feet away at this point. Still moving slow and sneaky.

He's under the fence and thinks he is so cool. He gave us a few backward glances as if to say," see, I'm not the least bit afraid of you".

Now he slowly goes up the river just like it is an everyday occurrence. One real cool dude he is.

Just after Phillip took this shot he began to eat tiny fish and frogs again just like we weren't there at all. His beak clacked when he hit rocks while catching fish and flipped them up just to catch them a swallow them whole.

You never know what you will see and who you will meet on a day down at the river.