Brown, Grey, Black and White

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It was unseasonably warm on New Yer's Eve.  I decided to go on a short paddle to try out a new camera and to enjoy the water while I could.  It was quite windy, and I did not see a lot of waterfowl.  There were a few Canadian geese about . . .

. . . as well as a few mallards.

Up in the distance a saw a disturbance in the water.  The extreme zoom of the new camera (60x) allowed me to grab a few photos of a muskrat.  I see them occasionally on this stretch of the river, but they are not too common.

The geese were flying overhead.  Big flocks seem to head to the lakes.

The world is now painted in brown, grey, black and white.  The stand of aspens up the river bring a little bit of brightness on this gloomy day.

Besides the heads of the male mallards, the only green was the moss on the logs by the river.

The osprey nest has been empty for some time.  I look forward to the return of the osprey.

With the cattail and rush knocked back by the winter storms, I could see a muskrat lodge.  The lodge will lose its water access once the river level drops.

A few more mallards were about, but the amount of birds was low.

New Year's Day found me inside rowing (half marathon distance) and shoveling a little snow.  The next day I went out.  Though it was below freezing, there was little wind.  Many more geese were about.

The islands were coated in a few inches of snow.  Everything was quiet.

Sucker Brook is starting to ice in.  The slow, shallow water is the first on this stretch of the river to freeze.

The bare trees reveal all their secrets.  I noticed many bird nests on the islands.

The stumps and snags stand silent.  In the summer I will cast a line around these features, but no fish are to be found now.

There were many more mallards about.

Even a few black ducks were about.

There was no need to go out on the river to see the waterfowl.  A dozen or more came ashore and searched for grass in the yard.  I could have just sat in the living room and watched them . . .

. . . but what fun is that?