Still Waters Encounter

A buck wades through a glassy forest pond while a great blue heron lifts off beside him, wings spread wide, both animals reflected in the still water below. It's an accidental meeting—neither one bothered by the other, just two creatures sharing the same quiet corner of the woods. Autumn color blazes along the bank, oranges and reds doubling in the mirror-smooth surface. Exposed roots and fallen branches line the shore, and the soft light of late afternoon warms the whole scene. The kind of moment that happens every day when nobody's around to see it.