Winner of the 2006 Hop Brook Protection Association's Photography Contest "What Hop Brook Means to Me" is Barbara Taskovics of Sudbury. The photo was taken

Great Blue Heron in Hop Brook Marsh

Barbara Taskovics submitted the following poem with the photo. As I sat on a log by the marshland Birds sang their songs of spring They floated and drifted in wind currents Landing on grasses and trees The blue heron far in the distance Atop a rotted old oak Surveying Hop Brook for his dinner A frog to tickle his throat Drake mallard hid in the pond reeds Afraid of the sounds he heard While a fearless goose swam in the current Calling his mate to come home Hop Brook calls to the spirit Stop and rest for a while Refresh yourself by the water And let your day float by

With Hop Brook's Grist Mill Pond in the background, Barbara Taskovics, winner of the HBPA 2006 Photo Contest "What Hop Brook Means to Me", receives her prize and award certificate from Francis Lyons, HBPA President.