Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/104211
Sarasota News Leader January 18, 2013 Page 71 Ardea is two years old, and, as people would say, "She's a lovely young lady now." And she knows it! No trace of adolescent awkwardness is left in her. She no longer walks hesitantly; she struts confidently right up to her prey. She no longer flies to the frog pond and becomes tangled up in the reeds; she glides gracefully into it. She has lost that charming sense of curiosity and look of wonderment and is no longer distracted by the occasional dragonfly (which she will promptly devour) or by people jogging past with their dogs. She ignores them. Her diet has changed in a subtle way. In order to produce viable, hard-shelled turquoise-blue eggs and healthy chicks, Ardea is storing in her bones as much calcium as she can. No young snail, centipede or crab is safe around her. Ardea preens for all the world to see. File photo Ardea's green skin is a sign she is ready for 'Mr. Right.' File photo