We almost didn’t go. The forecast for the day was perfect, no wind, temperatures in the mid-70s. Perfect that is if you left out the significant chance of rain. After a string of less-than-optimal days as motivation, we decided to chance it and explore the northern reaches of a reservoir not far from our home. We loaded the canoe up with camera equipment, rain gear, one fishing pole, and lunch as we planned to be out for a while if the rain held off. Oh yes, we didn’t forget camera dry bags just in case.

Low clouds and no wind meant it was very quiet especially since the threatening weather had kept a lot of other folks off the lake. Within 100 yards of the launch, we saw our first Green Heron, one of about seven sighting.

A further on we spotted two immature Bald Eagles and a little later, as we entered a cove, another was spotted. We ended the day with about six eagle sightings which included a pair of mature adults.

Smaller birds including a Louisiana Water Thrush (no photo), Red-headed Woodpeckers, Belted Kingfishers, and Spotted Sandpipers were also seen.

The north end of Alum creek Reservoir is well known for its community of Osprey, and we were not disappointed. They seemed to be everywhere.

It wasn’t always a bird that intrigued, along the shore my wife spotted movement in the water, so we took a closer look.

In July in mid-Ohio, one doesn’t always thank of wildflowers, but a number were doing really well at water’s edge.

While some dragonflies were seen the cloudy cool day kept the numbers down. Not so for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtails which seemed to be just about everywhere.

The lesson may be to pick cloudy quiet, rain threatening, days to be in nature. That is if one wants to maximize one’s encounter with the natural world which certainly proved to be the case for us. On this particular day, as if nature weren’t enough, the lack of wind and cooler the normal temperatures made it a great day to paddle a canoe. Our graceful 30-year-old Sawyer did not disappoint. It quietly and eagerly responded, always offering up an exhilarating sensation of required speed when needed. In addition to the birds already mentioned, during our paddle we had also seen hummingbirds, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, and Double-crested Cormorants, Turkey Vultures, and various gulls. It had been a good day.

Thanks for stopping by.