It’s not very often that I get to have a day to myself to do anything I want to without having to worry about what everyone else has going on. Recently I had such a day. All I really had to worry about was making sure I was home when the girls came home from school.
I woke up that morning thinking to myself, “What are you going to do today? You have the whole day to yourself.” So I got up and looked outside to see what the day looked like. It was gray and windy and to me inviting me to come out and play. When I turned away from the window I spotted my camera. “That’s it,” I thought, “I am going to the lake and take some winter pictures.”
I love winter and snow so the temperature being around freezing was not an issue for me. The excitement was building in me as the girls and my husband were getting ready for school and work. I couldn’t wait for them to leave so I could get started on my day.
As soon as the last one was out the door I prepared for the cold, windy day ahead. I dressed in layers and made sure I had 2 pairs of gloves. I put on my coat, grabbed my camera, extra film and out the door I went.
Photography is a big hobby of mine and as I was driving I was thinking about what kinds of wonderful pictures I would take. Would I find some wildlife? I really hoped so. I also love the water and was thinking of the terrific shots I could get of it.
Finally I arrived at the spot I had decided to go to (finding others along the way). As I pulled into a parking spot I noticed a gaggle of Canadian Geese resting on the ice in a small cove trying to stay out of the wind. A thrill went through me and I stepped out of my truck, zipped my coat, put on my gloves and hood. I took a big breath of fresh air and looked around. There were flurries in the air and the wind was brisk and I was happy.
I set off across the parking lot towards the geese planning on walking to the end of the dock to take their picture. They watched me approach them and started a racket of honking. One of them stood up and started flapping his wings trying to scare me away but I was determined to get their picture. I took several pictures of them as they were walking on the ice away from me and then as one they flew away. As they were flying, still low to the water, I snapped another one of them in flight. I felt bad for disturbing them but…this was MY day.
I walked back across the parking lot to the picnic area to start my walk along the shore. It was quiet except for the wind and the sound of the waves hitting the shore. It was so peaceful and I could feel myself relaxing.
The water was up so I couldn’t walk along the sand, but had to walk along the bank. It was so amazing to see the ice formations along the bank. The ice was hanging down and looked like magical ice castles for gnomes. I took several shots of these, finding it difficult to be a little choosy. I walked back and forth along the bank trying to decide which ones I liked the best.
I ran out of film and walked back to the truck to reload and move on to another place I had spotted on the way in. As I was driving back down the road, slowly so I could take it all in, I saw three deer feeding along side of the road. I stopped right there and grabbed my camera off of the passenger seat as I was rolling down my window and all the time praying they wouldn’t run away before I could get some pictures. The smaller one did take off but I got some shots of the other two before another ran off. I watched the second one run away and as it ran in front of me I snapped its picture. I turned back to see if the third one was still there and it was! I took a couple more pictures of it and then drove off down the road thinking to myself, how many times have you wished for a camera at a moment like this?!!
As I pulled into the next spot I noticed that the lake was all frozen here. I walked out on the dock and saw rabbit tracks in the snow on the ice. They were so neat. I took several landscape shots here of the frozen lake and the pine trees on the far shore.
This was one of the best days I have had for a long time and the best part is that I have caught it all on film so I can relive the day over and over again.
