I’ve seen plenty of sunsets up here in the northwoods. It doesn’t hurt that the place that I stay at faces to the west, and has a long pier shooting out over a cove. Sunsets are easy.
Yesterday morning, I thought I’d go for a sunrise.
Sunrise around here is around 6:48am, so I got up around 6:20 and padded out to the pier.
Early-Morning Westward Pier
The temperature was at 31°, but my bare feet were quite comfortable on the still-warm soil and pine needles that cover the trail to the cove. Also, I made sure to wear a hat. After all, as the old saying goes: if your feet are cold, put on a hat.
As you can see, the warm lake water was misting into the cold air. The leaves are just starting to turn. Here’s a shot looking northwest.
Mist Over Otter Cove (click for larger version)
There’s really not much to see of a sunrise with one’s back to the cove—all the trees get in the way. So, I got into one of the kayaks at hand and headed out to the middle of the lake. That is where I got this picture of the sunrise. I’m shooting to the northeast.
Sunrise (click for larger version)
None of my pictures of the sun appearing above the trees amounts to much. There were no clouds in that direction to filter the light, so they are just bright blobs.
I of course kayaked barefoot.
Inside the Kayak
My feet, even without doing anything, stayed perfectly comfortable. My hands, however . . .
I actually had to put on gloves a few times. After I got my shots, I headed back in to the pier, where my sailboat was sitting at the end. The mist and the sun and the pier and the still water produced this:
Mirrored Pier and Sailboat
While I was out in the lake, some animal (raccoon?) must have visited the pier, because I found these footprints in the light layer of frost that covered the pier.
Pier Footprints
And obviously, those weren’t the only mammal footprints to be seen on the pier that morning.
More Pier Footprints
My feet only started to get cold as I headed along the frosty pier back to the shore. I’m not sure why, since they were just fine in the opposite direction (though they hadn’t been sitting outside for half an hour earlier on, so maybe that’s it). But they weren’t cold for long, and warmed up immediately back in the cabin.
