Shortly after spotting the Great Egret that I featured yesterday, I caught sight of this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), almost hidden in the trees. From his perch on a fallen tree, he had a view of the grass field that opened into the marsh and seemed to be keeping watch over it.
The heron’s upright posture somehow reminded me of the sentinels at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, just a few miles away from Theodore Roosevelt Island, where I took this photo. At the Tomb, elite soldiers of The Old Guard, a US Army unit, are on duty twenty-four hours a day, keeping watch over the monument dedicated to American service members who have died without their remains being identified.
It is important that we never forget the military, police, and other dedicated people who are conducting the often solitary duty of keeping us safe and free, while we are awake and while we are sleeping. During this Christmas season especially, be sure to keep in your hearts and prayers the men and women who will be on duty in distant lands, separated from their family and loved one.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great photo and thank you for remembering all those doing Solitary Duty so we can be safe and free.
This is a super shot!! The softness of the grays and browns in the BG set off the heron so beautifully ~
Thanks. The setting and the moment was almost perfect. It struck me that the bill of this particular heron was particularly long, though that might just have been caused by the angle at which I took the photo.
My son is in the Air Force and it is often a lonely job even when you’re surrounded by others, so thanks for the reminder Mike.
That’s an excellent shot of the heron!
Thanks, Allen. I spent 20 years in the Army, so military people have a special place in my heart.
He does look as if he might be on guard
The great blue herons are so stoic, I never quite know what to make of their attitude towards the world…Great photo.