Lake Fix

Yesterday was a beautiful day, but the weatherman is predicting unrelenting rain starting some time today, so I figured that I had better get out and do a little walking, while I had the chance.  Jim, from Ocean Breezes http://jabacue.blogspot.com/ had some wonderful pictures of the ocean near him on his blog yesterday, and it made me hungry for my own large body of water -- Lake Ontario.  It's still very much Winter by the shores.

There is an ice shelf extending many feet out into the lake.  All of this area will be water, after the ice melts.

I don't remember the lake being this frozen over last year, but we have had pretty much unrelenting cold and snow this year which, I suppose, makes the difference.  I don't know what made these mounds to form on the ice.  Maybe wave action earlier in the Winter, with water splashing onto the existing ice and freezing before it had a chance to run off?

 The end of the pier is so ice covered it is just a great frozen blob.  You could never tell that there is a walkway, and benches for people to sit and enjoy the view out there.

I hadn't expected to see much life there yesterday.  It was very cold, and, as previously seen, frozen.  But, I was wrong.  As I walked along beside the shore, I came upon a Canada Goose pair eating grass from a patch where everything had thawed.

And, when I came to Mill Creek, where it runs into the lake, I found the ever present Mallards, floating rather dejectedly in a very small pool of water that the turbulence had kept open.

The creek was running with some force, singing a song as it raced over the rocks on the bottom.

Even still pictures show the swiftness of the water.

But, the scene at the lake is not one of Spring, but of Winter holding on.  Snow still covers most of the park, though that may change over the weekend.

However, aside from enjoying the beauty around me, I learned a lesson that human beings seem to have to learn time and again.  The old cliche says it best "Don't judge a book by its cover."

I was all alone when I got to the lake, and down by the shore it was pretty isolated.  But, soon after I got there I heard voices, and turned to see two young men sliding down the hill behind me.  They were kind of scruffy looking, and I have to admit I got somewhat uneasy.  I took a look at them, and saw that they were both on the small side.  "OK," says I, "I probably outweigh both of them together, and I have my treking poles, so I'll be able to put up a good fight, at least."  But, I decided that the best offense might be friendliness, so I put on my best harmless old lady smile and said hello.

And, I got, in return, lovely sweet smiles and a willingness to talk.  It turns out that they were members of a band called "The Fear of Falcons."  And, they were excited, as only the young can be, by the fact that their band was playing tonight in one of the larger club venues in Rochester -- The Water Street Music Hall.  We ended up joking and talking about everything from their coming fame, to Janis Joplin.  I left them with a very pleasant feeling in my mind.  In spite of all the adverse publicity around, there are still good kids in the world.  I wish them every success, and hope that, some day, "The Fear of Falcons" will, indeed, be famous.