The subject of this photo, a male Mallard duck, is very common. He’s not doing anything strange or unusual. The environment, the beaver pond at my local marsh, is not particularly exotic.
Somehow, though, I feel a sense of comfort and peace in the very ordinariness of this simple composition and in its soothing color palette. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of this holiday season, it’s good to slow down and regain some inner peace (even if it’s necessary at other times to paddle hard beneath the surface).
In the words of a song that I heard yesterday on the radio, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
You said it all very well. Great picture.
Mallards are a duck that most take for granted, although vast in numbers I rate them as one of the most beautiful ducks we have, a fine shot, well done.
Thanks. I completely agree with you about the beauty of the mallard. All too often we don’t take time to look closely at the common things in our lives and we miss the beauty they hold.
An almost perfect reflection there…nice!
I like the reflection 🙂