God is sooooo good. We were camped near a small lake and wetlands in Wyoming. I woke early and wandered down to the lake. I found a little nook on the shore and settled in with my camera.
The sun rose slowly over the low hills on this quiet and peaceful morning. A white pelican paddled lazily in a far corner of the lake. I shot a few photos of the pelican as it was the only subject remotely within shooting distance. He started to dabble in the shallow water. Pelicans are not really designed for dabbling which made for a comical sight.
I was contemplating leaving when movement in the rushes nearby caused me to freeze. I sat still and waited for a wading bird to emerge. Moments ticked by and I saw nothing more. Relaxing, I sat back and decided to stay a bit longer.
About 20 minutes later I was again contemplating leaving. From the same area of the previous movement, an otter entered the water. Ecstatic, I watched, and tried to photograph, as he suddenly noticed me sitting on the bank.
Instead of disappearing he made a sort of hissing/chirping sound directed at me. I thought about getting up to leave as I obviously was disturbing him. However, gathering all my stuff and standing would be more disturbing. I decided to just sit still.
To my utter amazement and delight, the otter swam towards the little section of bare bank I occupied. He climbed out of the water and spent the next few minutes peering at me from different angles. He also got back in the water and swam around for different views of the intruder. Less than ten feet away, I tried to photograph the curious otter but he was so close (I only had a telephoto lens) and mostly back lit by the rising sun.
He eventually lost interest and slipped back in the water to continue his morning. The whole astonishing encounter only lasted a few minutes – a wonderful, amazing few minutes. What a gift from a loving Creator!
