Lake Harriet

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:53:17 -0600

Creek running well. Blue sky, cumulus clouds, light breeze from the east. Eight ducklings attracting attention as they follow their mother single file across the path along the southern shore, and into the water. Several sailboats moving slowly, one fishing boat. Beaches active. Fishermen at the southwest dock, mallards around the small islands there. Northeast marsh bright with white and yellow blossoms high off the ground.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:11:54 -0600

Creek running well. Mixed clouds and sunlight, breeze from the north. Great blue heron standing off the southern shore, mallards nearby. Fishing dock busy; beaches busy. Canoe and fishing boat on the water. Muskrat swimming along the western shore. Family of mallards farther north, including eight small ducklings.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:03:05 -0600

White poplar seeds drifted along the path along the creek. Sky darkening to the west. A dozen sailboats on the water, several kayaks. Both beaches busy; paths busy. Red-wing blackbirds darting across the path. Great blue heron standing still in the milfoil off the southern shore. Fishermen at the southwest dock. Mallard with five ducklings off the western shore. Crowd at the band shell.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:23:22 -0600

Shades of gray turning to rain. More than a dozen sailboats drifting on the water. Immature loon diving off the southern shore. Fishermen on the southwest dock. People taking refuge in picnic area. Grackles, red-wing blackbirds. Fisherman in boat. Purple flags at the western outlet. Violets along the creek; mallard family with six small ducklings.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:42:52 -0600

Variable haze of poplar seeds, just beginning to accumulate on the creek, ground, and lake. Slight breeze from the south; large patches of cumulus clouds. A few mallards along the edge of the lake, including half a dozen substantial ducklings near the band shell. Various tall wildflowers blooming in the northeast marsh. Large sheet of milfoil and algae floating off the western shore: mesotrophic for sure. Paths busy.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:40:48 -0600

Virginia waterleaf and other plants blooming along the creek. Gray sky, lake all but still, reflecting. A few mallards along the southern shore; a gray heron alights there and stands in the shallows. Red-wing blackbirds in the brush. One swimmer off the northern shore; a fisherman standing closer to shore.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:55:16 -0600

Persistent drizzle; breeze from the north. A few mallards on the creek; a few more at the southwest inlet; red-winged blackbirds calling out from the brush. Scores of coots bobbing off the southwestern shore, several swallows flying overhead. Elsewhere a robin, a yellow-rumped warbler, a pair of grackles, a brilliant cardinal. Few people on the paths.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:25:08 -0600

Creek broad after recent rain; six male mallards parading in a line. Rough cloud cover bringing rain, some sun and blue sky; not many people on the paths. Large turtle sunning on a rock off the southwest inlet. Crow in a tree. A couple of dozen sailboats riding at anchor in the southern breeze. Peepers loud from the marsh north of the lake. Three pied-bill grebes diving off the western shore. Pair of wood ducks on the creek.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:27:12 -0600

Creek running fairly high after recent rain. Some sunlight through high clouds; breeze from the south. Solitary mallard on a rock off the southwest inlet; blackbirds calling from the brush. Scores of coots diffusely spread out over a large swatch of water off the western shore, bobbing in the breeze. Two geese standing on the western embankment. Marsh on northeastern shore full to overflowing, loud with bird calls. Paths there busy; circling motorcycles louder than the landing planes.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:36:49 -0600

Creek somewhat murky. Blue sky, sun; high, thin clouds. Breeze from the southeast just raising white caps. A few mallards along the southern shore; blackbirds in the brush. Scores of coots and many shovelers riding the waves off the western shore. Pair of geese on the water, another pair trimming the grass nearby.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Sat, 11 May 2013 15:20:40 -0600

A pair of mallards on the creek. Flat cumulus clouds tiled across the sky, breaking the sunlight; good breeze from the northwest raising whitecaps on the lake. A few mallards along the southern shore; blackbirds calling from the brush at the southwest inlet. Two geese lee-side of the western shore; scores of coots and almost a dozen shovelers farther out. A few people on the paths. Eight sailboats at anchor. Yellow-rumped warblers in the brush along the northern shore; four horned grebes dotting the shoreline.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:09:58 -0600

Creekside more green than brown; a few mallards on the water. Sun, blue sky; light breeze from the west, bringing high, thin clouds. A few mallards off the southern shore; a few fishermen on the southwest dock; blackbirds calling from the brush. Many coots drifting in the lee of the breeze; two shovelers; one immature loon. Woodpecker sounding on a riddled tree. Two geese grazing on the lawn at the western shore. Concession open near the band shell; dispersed wedding party being photographed. One sailboat riding on a raft at anchor. Milfoil harvester anchored off the northern dock.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:48:51 -0600

Scillas blooming in large swathes along the creek. Sunny, blue sky, few clouds. Many horned grebes and mergansers near the southern shore. Loons farther out. Several black-headed gulls. Goose swimming beyond the small island in the southwest inlet. Cardinals in the brush; a few yellow-rumped warblers. Coots off the western shore;prolonged calling from loons on the lake. Paths very busy.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Sat, 04 May 2013 17:58:04 -0600

Creekside greening up. Some blue sky showing over the lake. Great blue heron flying north along the western shore. Scores of horned grebes off the southern shore, scattered mergansers also. Three people paddling a green canoe. Dozens of yellow-rumped warblers on the ground and in the brush; a couple of yellow warblers. Goose on the small island off the southwest inlet, another goose resting on the shore. Scores of coots. More horned grebes and mergansers off the western shore. Two loons off the northern shore. More warblers along the western shore.

Sunday, April 26, 2013

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 17:53:52 -0600

Creek running well; banks beginning to show green in the brown leaf litter. Clouds gathering in the west, shadowing the sun and bringing thunder. Ice-out on the lake, yesterday if not today; thin shoals of ice rubble, more than a hundred yards wide, carried against the northern shore by the southern breeze. Pair of wood ducks off the southern shore. Goose on the small island in the southwest inlet, another goose swimming nearby. Mallards and gulls scattered all around the lake, in the air and on the water; several groups of mergansers also, swimming and diving; and a pair of bufflehead. Red-winged blackbirds among the shoreline brush. Three loons in the middle of the lake, one of them calling, all of them diving. Another loon in a pool of open water near the northern shore, surrounded by broken ice. People at both beaches, the wind at the northern beach blowing warm and cool. Cardinal calling from the top of a tree. Paths busy.