October Outings 1) For Family, 2) For Nature

 

Granddaughter Deise and her significant other, Zach, were in Winterset for the Covered Bridges Festival the weekend of the 9th and 10th, so we drove up to see them.

I hadn't seen Zachary since I met him at Kathryn & Travis' wedding two and a half years ago.

I'm not sure, but it may be that long since I've seen Deise. They live near Davenport.

It isn't that my 'birthday present' granddaughter has gotten taller, it's that I continue to shrink.

We did our obligatory 'sticking our tongues out' photo, but I'm not sharing it this time. 😜

It was just a short visit, but very nice to see the kids and my son and daughter-in-law. (As well as their recently renovated and newly sided house.)

Deise is a Dental Hygienist now and Zachary is a police officer.

The nature outing last Tuesday was to Lake Anita State Park in Cass County. I can't even remember the last time I was there. I think, as with many of the state and county parks, there have been many improvements.

I said that even though the weather was perfect, it was a 'fowl' (not foul) day.

There were two wild turkeys on the park ranger's lawn when we drove in, but this pod of pelicans was the first that I took photos of. Many photos - I was so happy to see them.

Next were the three swans wa-ay across the lake. Even with my zoom lens I didn't get a good shot of them. 

Then they flew away. Darn.

More fowl. Seagulls don't quite measure up to swans and pelicans, but I still enjoy seeing them. They aren't as numerous around here as on the coasts or great lakes so they are kind of special.

A bit of bright blue caught my eye - some chicory still blooming near the water.

For as long as I've had my current camera, I was not aware of its macro setting until a few days after this outing. If I had known I might have gotten the dew sparkling on these grasses which is what I was trying for in this photo. Even looking at it close up the droplets hardly show. 😞

We were so excited when a heron flew up into this tree and we saw that another one was already there. I have never seen two together before. They are always alone in water and hardly ever in trees.

It wasn't until I got home and transferred my pictures to the computer that I realized there was another heron in the lower left.  Was this a pair and their little one?

I had seen photos online of all the different colors of water lilies and lotus blossoms at Lake Anita so I was on the lookout for them. Unfortunately we were too late for the mass blossomings.

But this photo of the pads still reminds me of a Claude Monet painting of water lilies. 

This picture is from the opposite of the lake from the first one of the pelicans and not only catches a couple of them in flight but also the color and extent of the big bluestem on the hillside.

And we found the swans. They were in a backwater of the lake foraging and feeding.

I have no idea what that swan on the left had just pulled up from the bottom. I assume there was something in there that it found appetizing. 

Crocodile amidst the lily pads?

Tail sticking out, head turned to its left. 

Or maybe it's just an old stump.

This limb sticking out of the water was so far out that at first it just looked like black dots. Zooming in showed these four Cormorants. 

More evidence of a fowl day. 

The last time I saw comorants was four years ago when there were two on Lake McKinley October 16, 2017.

Continuing with the fowl theme - Turkey Buzzards soaring in the blue October sky.

So in total: tukeys, pelicans, swans, herons, cormorants, seagulls, ravens and a couple of small birds too far away to identify.

 

On the road out we also saw a couple of deer that were too quick for my camera.

The trees didn't have much color yet, just a bit of yellow here.

The paved path at the bottom of the photo is the hiking/biking trail that runs through the park.

There was the sumac with most of its leaves turned a burgundy; pretty against the blue of the water and the green algae.

The brightest tree was this maple.

Followed by this small ornamental tree which looks like it is red because of all the tiny red berries covering it. 

I have no idea what kind of tree it is.

But the morning was a huge 'out in nature' success.

We are referring to it as my pre-surgery outing. (One week before hip replacement.)

One last photo because my youngest wanted an updated picture with his mom when we were there the 9th.

He's been losing weight and it shows. I'm happy for him and proud of his success so far. 

I think we only have one grandson and one great-grandson that we haven't seen yet post-covid isolation. 

And, of course our west coast daughter and husband and east coast son and significant other. Hopefully in 2022. Maybe by then things really will be back to normal.