“If I could be a blue heron I would, long neck, long legs, watching quietly, stepping quietly, waiting, then quick, vicious jab, gotcha, delicious fish.” – Ted Kooser Date Published: August 28, 2026 Recently one of my favorite artists, Ken Gilliland, released yet another amazing pack of animal models this time of snakes of the American South… where I am. As soon as I saw that Cottonmouth, the idea for this scene popped into my head. I actually did the research to make certain that all of the wildlife seen here is, in real life, local to this area and our lake shorelines. One of the things I always gaze at/look for when I cross Crab Orchard Lake to get to Carbondale is also the focal point of this scene; the Great Blue Heron. Featured here in addition to the Great Blue Heron are an American Bullfrog, a Painted Turtle, a Cottonmouth Snake, Mallard Ducks, and Canadian Geese. I also made sure to feature a lot of cattail plants. They used to be all over around here, but some sort of invasive species has been overtaking them. This scene makes me miss the nature walks I used to go on with my dad. I don’t miss all of the bugs though! That was the main downside of nature walks, having to check myself for ticks before I went in the house and hoping I hadn’t got chiggers. YUCK!! I much prefer being safe in my fortress of solitude.