A misty day on Caesar Pond

These trees line the eastern shore of Caesar Pond

'Twas a misty day on Caesar Pond, and I went pond prowling as soon as I got home from school. I spent the better part of two hours puttering around. There was a light breeze that continually pushed me around, sometimes in circles, as I tried to photograph the autumn colors. I was thrilled to see that the dark sky yielded a vibrancy of leaf color that I have been waiting for. (Click on the photos for larger views.)

The maple trees were absolutely gorgeous as the leaves change from green, to yellow, to red. I found this combination of leaves and lichen to be stunning.

The beaver was a tad ticked off at me as he doesn't know how to share!

As I was paddling toward the north cove, I heard a splash and saw a beaver swimming ahead of me. He was letting me know that he was none too happy about me invading his end of the pond! Hmmm..."Tough on you, Mr. Beaver, I can be on the pond if I so desire..." (We have this conversation often, all over the pond.) He high-tailed it back to his lodge and I actually heard him vocalize loudly from within it, so I backed off. As you can see, I was far away from the beaver when photographing him (about 60 feet), and I never got close to him, hence the fuzziness of the photo (also due to being pushed around by the wind and the fogginess of the air.)

I love the north cove. There are two wood duck boxes situated there, and the background of colorful trees is always so pleasing to my eye during the height of autumn.

While I was admiring the duck boxes, I heard an osprey vocalize. I looked up to see the osprey chasing a bald eagle! Wowee! I couldn't get much of a photo of the birds as they zoomed by. I had a rather slow shutter speed as nighttime was approaching and the fog was thickening. I also heard a belted kingfisher calling as well, and it flew behind me (no photo of it.)

After the chase, the osprey made a u-turn and landed on a white pine branch far back in the north cove. I paddled quietly and got close enough to get a recognizable photo of him before he flew off.

Looking south along the eastern shore on my way to the dock.

The fog became thicker toward the end of my outing, and I was forced to head for home at 6pm. Ahhh...there is nothing like a peaceful pond to rejuvenate me at the end of a work day.