Extinction level event, torturing baby girls, national security, Messenger from the Gods

So .... Sometimes things happen that are very confusing.  Yesterday I was working in the house and I noticed the usual background noise  from our little suburban  backyard mini farm dropped to nothing... so I thought I better go check.  I looked out the window and  a huge Blue Heron was hunched over my pond.  I grabbed the camera because this was an extraordinary event.  I managed to snap off 2 photos before it opened up into  a giant 6 foot wide  span and flew off.  I immediately checked the chickens and found them huddled in the coop looking at me  like "its about time you got here! DID YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THAT THING??????" Then I checked the pond and discovered that every single fish in it was gone.  Now, I know they are just fish... But they were MY fish.  I mean really MY  fish.  Jimmy and I bought them as feeder fish for the turtle and we decided to put some in the pond about 2 years ago.  They started out as tiny, barely visible  brown  specks and over 2 years grew into  4 inch,  gold and black, beautiful creatures. They were curious, friendly and interactive (which is what probably got them killed).  But even the stone cave Jimmy built them couldn't save them from natures ultimate fisherman.  So, I'm kind of mad about the fish.

On the other hand  One of the most stunning birds I have ever seen graced my  humble  space on this planet with its presence. A Royal visit if you will.  A royal visit which resulted in an extinction level event for my pond.  Had I not witnessed the event   we would have had a Roanoke type mystery on our hands .   And suspicions would have fallen on all present.   The chickens, the cat, the squirrels,and of course the local neighborhood raccoon, which is occasionally seen  but eludes capture, would have been looked at askance. The equivalent of the backyard Patriot Act would have been enacted to the detriment of one all. Freedoms suppressed, the innocent tortured for information and one and all feeling so victimized they would eventually rise up in revolt. Much  like what is happening in America these days, Please tell me you caught the 15 second video of the terrified screaming 3 year old girl being violated by TSA...... AND you are as horrified as I am by the realization that the land of the free has sunk to torturing baby girls in the name of national security.
But I digress and we have avoided that scenario in our private little space.  The Circle of Life goes on. New fish will replace the old  and perhaps someday  the Blue Heron, the messenger of the Gods, will be back.