I headed out this morning with a relaxed mindset. No iPod. No desire to pound the water. No desire to go the length of the lake. Just slowly drift in our own horseshoe area.  See who is around.  I see a lot more birding activity from our dock, but the afternoon sun makes them all seem like varying sizes of black flying ‘things’.

Georgia. She’s been back for a while. Or – one of her siblings, er um, children?  I’ve seen about 5 distinct Egrets on the lake in their own territories.  Last year, in one tree, we counted 14. They really like the lake!

I wanted to get a few bird in flight photos with the mirror beneath, but quite a few jet skis and ski boats thought the water was amazing too – broke the mirror. Still got a nice flight shot!

The Grebes have been back for a week or more.  I love seeing them dive quickly in the water.  I am still not good at telling if they are Horned or such – from far away and poor lighting it is hard for me to tell.

Fauna is abundant and vibrant. Trees are turning yellows, oranges and reds. Purple seems to be a big color on the lake. Big Leaf Maple has the seed pod turning red – with the huge green leaves it is magnificent! Lily pads are still drifting about – the iris are all finished with their bloom.

Sitting by my dock about 2 hours later. I stayed in this area. It’s a little over a half mile in each direction. Blue Heron, Egret, Grebe, Gulls, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Mallards, Teals, and a few unidentifieds. Still no Coots. Oh- yesterday I saw 4 Loons. Love my Loons.  There is a group of about 20 Canadian Geese that have been hanging out over here.  The major migration flocks have not arrived. I’ll be looking every day.

See how choppy the water can get within minutes? Wind from the west to the East blowing hard, fog over the ocean – cold in town. Still pretty hot and blue sky here.

The Mil-Mar from the water side.  I feel blessed every single hour of every day to be able to take care of this place!