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Monday, January 4, 2010

That's My World Tuesday: Photo walking in the New Year

New Year's day was chilly and gray but fairly mild compared to the cold blast coming in that night. I decided to go on a photo walk at the lake near my house.


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It was almost like people, gulls and geese got the memo that they should take advantage of the mild weather even if it was rather overcast.

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It has become something of a tradition for me to go on a walk at Shelley Lake on New Year's day. There was a time when I did that walk everyday. I can even remember in 1984 when I was pregnant I'd walk from my house to the lake, around it, back home, and then to work. I did that walk and later run for many years until 2005. Since then I still try from time to time but I do better at my age with my health issues if I don't push it.

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These days I usually drive to the lake and start from different parts of the trail. I've always hated the idea of driving to walk, especially since I have wooded trails 1/2 mile from my house. But I don't have the energy any more to walk to my favorite spots if I start from home. Sometimes I do walk to the close trail from my house but by the time I get to the lake, I'm ready to turn around rather than do the full walk around it.

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It was interesting comparing the differences in the populations at the lake on January 1 and January 2. There were gulls and geese both days but a lot more were in the water on the first day of the year.

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The photographs above were all taken on the first day of the year, and the ones below were all taken on the second day of the year.

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It was quite cold on January 2, 2010 but the blue sky pulled me outdoors. I wasn't the only one lured out by the beautiful day but there were very few people that came out into the very windy, cold day. If you compare the second picture with the one below you will see what I mean. There were so many people on the bridge New Year's Day that I photographed through the trees but on the next day I was virtually alone.

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There were gulls and geese both days but far fewer out on the lake on the colder day.

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Most of the geese and ducks were nestled on dry land on the second day of this year.

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It was odd because for most of my walk there were only a few gulls flying over the lake, then all of the sudden it was like grand central station.

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When the mass of gulls hit the sky, it was like someone had sent out a memo that it was time to get moving. They weren't diving into the water or going off anywhere but instead were circling en masse.

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I was going to stop there but on the third day of the new year I spotted the handsome fellow below. It was extremely cold but I decided to at least go on a short walk in my neighborhood. He was in the tree across the street from my house and one house down.

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That's my world as a new year begins. To find other participants please visit the home of That's My World Tuesday.

31 comments:

Rajesh said...

Wonderful snaps of such a beautiful place. You are amidst such a wonderful nature among the greenery and birds.

Randi said...

You live in an interesting and a beautiful place. It looks so peaceful. I wish I could go on a photo walk at a lake. I can only walk along the sea and that´s never the same.
I love your photos!

Daryl said...

Fabulous ...

storyteller at Small Reflections said...

Thanks so much for sharing these lovely views from your walk. You do live in a beautiful (if much too cold for me) place on this earth.
Hugs and blessings,

DeniseinVA said...

Those are wonderful photos, so very enjoyable. Thanks for sharing them. I felt like I was on that walk with you :)

Sylvia K said...

What a difference in the skies of the two days! And I LOVE your photos! Particularly the brilliant colors of the ducks. Such a great post for the day, Carver!

Hope your new year is off to a great start!

Sylvia

Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers said...

Happy New Year to you! That's a beautiful place to go for a walk. The colourful shots of the geese are particularly lovely.
Janice.

Arija said...

What a difference a day makes.
I quite understand your walking issues. Normallly I used to take my camera across the paddocks to the park and at least once around the dam just to see what birds were resident and if there were any visitors. Since our heatwave in November, I hardly manage it to the back gate in the garden.
I do hope your health improves.

Gaelyn said...

What a difference a day makes. Seems many wanted to get outside on New Year's day. All excellent captures. Well worth the drive and walk.

Unknown said...

You have a few great places to walk...how nice is that! It's wonderful to get out and enjoy the fresh air and take photos!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely place to visit and so close to where you live. That's a wonderful tradition on NY's day.

I am sure the fowl know you by face :)

Janie said...

The blue sky day really looks inviting. Great shots of the flying gulls, the mallard, and that handsome hawk!

Benikos place said...

magic!!!!!!!!!

Ayie said...

So many nice shots of birds on flight, Happy New Year Carver!

Martha Z said...

It looks like a wondrful place to walk and it would be a shame not to enjoy it. It's better for us to accept the limitations of age and health and do what we can to get out and enjoy life.

Anonymous said...

Nice photos and description. Keep walking, even if you have to drive to get to your favorite spot.

Indrani said...

Very daring of you to go out in the cold, lovely shots captured.

eileeninmd said...

Great photos from your walk. I love the hawk and the photo with all those gulls. It looks like a very ncie place.

SandyCarlson said...

I love the white goose in the mix in this series. Reminds me of a domestic goose who used to shepherd the Canada goslings every spring. Papa Goose would stop traffic and do the whole nanny thing. He was formidable.

These are delightful.

lissa said...

I like the gull shots especially the closeup - the merging of the clouds and the gull is just wonderful

Anonymous said...

A good start to the new year, Carver. Though I think when it's sunny and skies are blue, it should be equivalently warm.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Carver: Nice capture from your early Winter world. I love the neat hawk photo.

Wolynski said...

Wow, beautiful photos - especially love the colorful ducks (who gave them orange legs and why?), and that last bird in the tree is impressive.

Happy New Year.

Teresa said...

Great pics of a great place. How nice to have so much wildlife around you.

Gena @ thinking aloud said...

Great scenery!!! PS> also love your header pic - really nice!!!

Hazel said...

What a beautiful place to live and work. I wouldn't touch a steering wheel if I had I had wooded trails to walk on to work. I love all shots, but the pictures taken after the new year are especially awesome.

Mojo said...

A lotta years ago I lived near the same trail you do and used to walk down to Shelley Lake with my dog. But I was a good bit further north, so by the time I got to the lake we'd both be ready to turn around and head back. (I think I figured out that it was 5 or 6 miles round trip.) This was before I had a decent camera or a cooperative dog though, so I have almost no photos from those excursions.

Strangely, it doesn't look so very different now than it did in the early 90's.

Anya said...

AMAZING shots
my compliments
I 'm a duck lover :-)

Unknown said...

It looks like a similar day to the one we had, perfect for getting out at a local beauty spot like your lake.

Regina said...

Such a lovely world!
Thank you for sharing.

Regards.

Regina

maryt/theteach said...

Carver, you've taken great shots of birds, birds, birds! Wonderful! Happy New year! :)

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