Our marsh got a sip of water this past week.  There was enough rain to put some sheet water in a few spots in the Bottoms and the magic began!  Overnight a group of pelicans appeared.  Ducks, geese and cranes are suddenly  present in significant numbers.  
It now seems “legal” for fall to come alive, for the time to change,  for the air to become crisp, and for hunting seasons to begin.  The deer rut is in full bloom, and the whooping cranes have meandered through our area on their way to Texas.  
I hear a few pheasants cackling in the morning and evening.  There are eagles and short-eared owls here now.
My fishing buddies are going to Wilson and Cedar Bluff to catch white bass, wipers, stripers, walleye and crappie on slabs.  The gulls are working the shad schools and leading fishermen to the right spots.
 I was startled by the intensity of the change that this small amount of water seemed to stimulate.   It reaffirms our faith in the ways of Mother Nature, and our pure joy in living in one of her best spots on earth.
Go see the marsh early and late when the light is slanted and so pretty you can almost touch it.  It is a great time to have a camera and to be retired for a whole year now.  Where did it go?