The Last Song of Summer

Autumn leaves on Lake

A warm October afternoon.
Clear blue sky, sunshine and ever the slightest breeze.
Perfect for canoeing on Caesar Creek Lake.
Even more perfect than one of a summer's day.


The water level is low.
Either in preparation for catching winter runoff or as a result of this season's dryness, this U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control project reveals the remnants of the many trees that once covered the banks of Caesar Creek, before the nearly 3000-acre lake was created in the late 1970s.
Navigating between them becomes a sort of slalom course.
Large muddy swirls appear and obscure the bottom, as startled fish scoot from beneath us.

Great Blue Heron in tree

Broad expanses of exposed silt and sand become attractive feeding grounds for herons and migratory shore birds. The broad belly of our red Old Town canoe, barely clearing the shallows-- now, not more than several inches deep.

Killdeer on mud flats, gulls in background

Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca

Yellowlegs with Killdeer, for scale

Cormorants float, neck-deep in blue water, then emerge to sun, wings held high on one of many protruding logs.
Back and forth, in small flocks they fly past us--almost at eye-level.
So close that I can see their orange chins clearly.

Double-crested Cormorant , Phalacrocorax auritus
sunning with out-stretched wings

In the narrowest finger, we paddle on, past shores crawling with late summer brightness.

Morning Glory

Inaccessible to all except canoes and kayaks, this undisturbed water is clearer than the usual murky brown of mid-summer.

Northern Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon

Autumn leaves in clear water

And from the sunny shore, a katydid sings summer's last song.

all photos click to enlarge