I snagged a parking spot over by the Latin School and started working my way out to L1 when I suddenly realized that the sun was rising much earlier than I had expected. So I broke into a trot and got out to the lakefront just in time to snap a few shots while it was just cresting the horizon.
And boy was it ever magnificent!
The lake itself was flawless – mirror flat with a nice turquoise color – and the surface temperature came in at an astonishing 42F. And while we were the first people out there for a swim, we once again got trumped by waterfowl.
I’d written in the past about the L1 cormorant, but this visitor was quite different. For one thing, this bird had a white neck and some rather unique markings. While I wasn’t able to get a picture, I’m fairly certain that it was a Western Grebe. And while these birds are not usually found this far east, they have been seen up at Montrose Beach in the past.
Getting back to the swim, Marton and I surveyed the scene and opted to go once again without our wetsuits. I still wore my thermo rash guard – and I was damn glad that I did – but I was quite pleasantly surprised at how much less cold the water seemed compacted with last week.
I did an out-and-back to the 1/4 mile point while Marton stayed in a bit longer. The air temperature was a crisp 40F which nipped at our fingers as we changed out of our wet clothes. But with almost no wind and plenty of sunshine, we were able to have a relatively quick recovery with only a minor afterdrop. Which, to me, is the real sign of Spring’s arrival!
Sunrise
Skyline
Scenes at the halfway point
