54 F/ 12 C

I was but two jumps
ahead of the rain on my 
outing this morning

~carliewired

Again, I was sitting in the dark at 4 AM munching my granola. When I decided to roll back into bed, I checked the forecast on my cell phone. It indicated rain this morning, so I thought sunrise would be a faint hope. 
To my great surprise sun pouring into the house after 8 woke me up. I made a quick decision to head to Paul Lake for my first viewing of the new year. 

I left the city in sunshine, but as I climbed the hill I looked to the north valley where ominous dark clouds were moving my way. 

Up on the flats I began to look for horses. Today, they were far off on the hillsides to the north. They were almost out of range of my camera. 

The winding road to the community of Paul Lake wasn't in bad condition for the end of winter. There was still those wintery colours but the lake was free of ice. 

I parked near the community mailboxes to have a bit of a walk along the west end of the lake. It was a chilly 5 C when I started off and I should have had another layer on. I made it a quick jaunt this morning. 

I looked across to the row of boats with the housing behind. I caught a stalwart Canada goose on the grass that just starting to green up. It was all very quiet there this morning. 

On my way back to the car I checked out the osprey nest across the road. No activity there. I'm not sure when osprey return. Perhaps it is too early yet. 

I was glad to get inside the car and get the heat on. I drove away from Paul Lake as the first drops of rain spattered my windshield. 

As I zoomed back down the hill to the city, I moved into sunshine once again. 

I'm home for the day trying to catch up on many loose ends.