Yesterday with my boat piled up high on the truck I drove to Patterson Lake. It might be the last paddle of the season. Snow is in tonight’s forecast and according to local predictions, we may be skiing before the end of the month. I sure hope to get my boat out again before winter sets in for good.
The weather was chilly with a light breeze and brilliant sunshine on the fading autumn foliage. It’s been too long since I’ve been in my boat and I felt clumsy to start but soon got into a rhythm. A Pileated Woodpecker crossed the lake in front of me. Hooded Mergansers acted as though I was a threat and flew before I could approach closely. The males are already showing off their big hoods while the females act disinterested. I heard but didn’t see, Mallards. No little birds were heard – no chickadees, nuthatches, finches.
At the south end of the lake, I observed these green round ‘things’ in the water. They were small, mostly less than a quarter inch in diameter but some a bit larger. Are they algae? Some sort of eggs? Seeds? In some places they were piled several layers deep; other places they covered the lake bottom in a single layer and in some places they were sparse. I’ve never seen them in the water before. With me on a boat and these underwater, they were hard to photograph. I got some in my hands their texture was spongy. I should have taken them back to shore to get a better look.
My boat matched the scenery.
I also saw a number of dead fish at the south end of the lake. Are these 8-10 inch fish planted kokanee? Are they spawned out? I also saw schools of similar fish swimming in the same area.
This not quite grown-up Bald Eagle flushed from a pine as I paddled by. Looking closely, you can see that it has one of those small fish in its bill.
A few seconds later it flew back in the other direction but now the fish is in its talons.
Life is full of excitement.
My Everyday Photos 