Hope the Heron

I celebrated the midweek Eucharist at St John's this morning, and after lunch and a siesta, went for a slightly longer walk than hitherto. I'm feeling better generally as the wound condition improves and am aiming to increase my daily target distance from around four to to at least five miles on a regular basis. The fitter I get, the less tired I get in the evenings, after all. The light summer nights are sheer delight now that the pall of cloud has lifted and we're seeing sunshine and blue skies along with nice white fluffy cumulus. 

I did a loop which took me from Llandaff Fields up to Western Avenue, then east to the other side of the big Tesco store, to the boundary path which goes south, parallel to the river Taff, and thence to Blackweir Bridge. I paused on the bridge thinking about taking a photo of a group of gulls feeding on the weir below, and a lady of a certain age said "Did you see the heron down there? She's come back"  

I hadn't yet noticed the heron, standing at the water's edge in the same familiar spot, fifty yards down from the fish ladder. A few days ago I saw it flying up the river, but failed to spot where it landed. It uses an assortment of spots to hunt from, where passing fish are most visible, as light changes during the day, but always up by the weir several hours before sunset. The last time I saw and snapped the heron was on April 1st. 

The lady also told me that it was a long time since she last saw it, and this sighting for her was a blessing. "I call her Hope", she said smiling. "My husband has just come home after open heart surgery. We had to wait so long for the operation that it was touch and go. I walk here every day, and decided to name her 'Hope' while we were waiting. So It's great to see her especially today, as she's been absent for so long" She'd noticed that I was wearing my cross, and asked why, so I explained. Perhaps that was why she shared her moment of joy and delight with me. I felt so privileged to be entrusted with a passing stranger's confidence, there on a bridge out in the open, just like that.