97 F/36 C

Paul Lake before the
sun appears is something so 
very magical

~carliewired

I left the house at 5:30 in half light .I had hopes I could be lakeside at Paul Lake when the sun appeared. I was watchful for deer who also like this time of day. 

Sunrise is always difficult to gauge with so many hills and mountains. Where you stand in relation to them determines when the first rays appear. Today I got it wrong so I only found colour beyond the lake. 

I parked in the construction zone at the west end of the lake. I watched as a beaver approached silently in the water. My fuzzy photo doesn't do him justice. 

A loon came floating down to the end of the lake. They are large birds with a most distinctive call. I often hear them on a lake, but seldom see them. A loon features on our one dollar coin which is nicknamed a "loonie".

There was lots of conversation at the osprey nest. I think the young ones were practicing their skills. 

On the way back down I stopped on the roadside which intersects two ponds. The small one is tucked behind the road sign warning of curves. I see that someone is keeping score for the beavers, but the beavers are not winning. 

I found a trio of deer along the roadside. When I stopped, the two young ones bolted into the underbrush but the mama patiently walked by on the roadside undisturbed. 

When I came down to Schedam Flats, the sun was beginning to light up the hillsides. I had the sun at my back all the way down to the highway. 

I have lots of little jobs today, but most of my time will be with my feet up.