Early Winter at Lake Ontario

I crashed mentally yesterday.  All the stress of the last weeks at the track, then the sudden letdown, made me feel kind of lost.  So, I decided I had to get out of my funk, and I took myself down to the lake.  I had just gotten some new L. L. Bean boots for winter, and I wanted to try them out.  They worked wonderfully, and kept my feet warm and cozy all the time I was tromping through the snow.  Aren't they spiffy?

The lake just plain looked cold as I walked towards it.

I had a bit of a spill on the way down the incline.  I guess I was too confident with my new boots on, and I slipped on some ice and fell, right on my keester.  First thing I did was look around to see if anyone had seen me.  Not a soul in sight, good!  Now to get up.  There was a bench about ten feet away from me, but I didn't want to crawl over there to use it, if I didn't have to.  So, I got on my hands and knees and kind of inchwormed my way up.  I'm glad no one was around, because I must have been a sight, but, I did it!  All that was left of my fall was the spot in the snow.

Yup, that's pretty icy under there.
The original plan had been to walk out on the pier.  A good close look, however, told me that wouldn't be the best of ideas.

Smart decision, don't you think?
I wasn't totally alone, by the way.  Much to my surprise, the Mallard ducks were still there.  I don't know why, and I told them in no uncertain terms to get themselves South.  They paid absolutely no attention to me.

My teeth are chattering just looking at them.  How can they stand to be in that cold water so long?  I would think their little feet would be frozen stiff.  Heck, the water was so cold it had "ice cubes" floating in it.

Luckily, I'm smarter than the average duck, and I decided, after my nose started to chill, that it was time for me to leave.  Up the hill I went, back to the car with its nice warm heater.

That walk did the trick, though.  I felt much less mopey and lost, after I got myself out doing something.