A Sunny Summer Morning.

Posted on July 19, 2019 by

128 Comments

Hello on this beautiful sunny summer morning!  Even if it isn’t morning when you read this.  Many people are not morning people.  I am.  I love how fresh it smells early in the morning.  I love sitting beside a calm lake.  I love listening to the loons calling to each other across the water.  I love watching a blue heron walking stealthily along the shore in search of minnows, frogs, insects or whatever else it can grab in that long beak of his. I love watching a kingfisher diving from a branch into the water after a minnow, spreading ripples across the calm surface of the lake.IMG_1268

I love watching the summer sun rise over the lake casting long shadows as its golden rays touch the trees or the long grass by the shore of the lake.  Everything seems to really come alive at this point.  Even though many birds are up and singing long before the sun rises, yet now there is just so much more singing in the trees.  Speaking of trees, there, sitting on a poplar is a gray tree frog in all of its brilliant emerald green color.  Yes, that’s right.  The gray tree frog is green.  Apparently in some places it is actually gray.  Amazing really.  But why not?  A purple finch is red.  A red squirrel is brown.IMG_5050

I love walking by the lake shore and looking for water loving flowers.  There are many of them.  Hard to find in town though since people tend to pick them all.  It is so sad when people pick wildflowers.  Some never bloom again when picked.  Others might, but people usually don’t know how to pick them properly and just rip them up by the roots. Well, that ends that flower.  That’s why it is so hard to find certain wildflowers close to people.  Especially if they are the more beautiful varieties.  And it’s impossible to convince people to leave them alone.  I have said it before, take a picture, lasts longer than a picked flower and it leaves it for someone else to enjoy.

broad-leaved arrowhead
Broad leaved arrowhead, one of our water loving wildflowers.

I love watching a beaver in the early morning sun as it swims back to its home after spending the night cutting down some food for itself.  They glide so smoothly and quietly through the water, barely making a ripple in the surface.  Occasionally something will scare it and then up comes that broad flat tail and smack!  Like a loud gunshot echoing across the lake.  And the beaver is gone.  But just wait a few minutes and it is back to the surface further down the lake, still heading home.

nixon lake, beaver1
A not very good picture of a beaver (middle) but the best I have at the moment.

I love to wait until the first slight breeze begins to blow causing the leaves of the trembling aspen to flutter just lightly.  It doesn’t take much of a breeze to make those leaves move and they are always the first to pick up that breeze.  Just a gentle whisper.

grass-of-parnassus3
Another water loving wildflower, the grass-of-parnassus.

I love to watch a flock of white pelicans flying over a calm lake.  Their reflection mirrored so perfectly as they fly silently past.  I also love to watch them as they sit and sun themselves on some rocks.  Or preen their feathers with those huge beaks they have. It’s amazing how they can even do it with their beaks.  But they don’t seem to have any trouble at all.  These are big birds with up to 10 foot (3m) wingspan.  Larger than our eagles.  And to watch them dive into the water after fish is quite a sight indeed.

IMG_5253
A few pelicans, how many can you see?

Ahh, there is nothing quite like an early morning in the summer.  Such beauty to enjoy.  What an amazing way to begin each new day.  And you don’t need a lake either.  A river.  A stream.  A forest location.  Your own backyard.  I don’t even have a yard, just a deck.  But there is still so much beauty to see and hear.  And for me, I’m not far from the lake here.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed our little time by the lake this morning.  Please come again and until next time, enjoy your day and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

© 2019 Steve McLeod.

 

 

Category: Beauty, Birds, Country, Country Living, Country Pleasures, Lake, Little Things, Outdoors, Summer, Summer Thoughts, Uncategorized, WildflowersTags: , , , , , , , , ,

128 Comments on “A Sunny Summer Morning.”

  2. I love reading this kind of article thinking about what I used to do when I was a kid.
    I love being washed by the sunshine when I wake up early morning.
    I love seeing a butterfly walk with me on my way to my office.
    I love watching the clouds tell me that all will be ok.
    Oh dear morning, I beg you. Don’t let the moon take over you. I love you so much.
    Because, you make me live.

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  5. So true what you say about the purple finch and the red squirrel, (so much in a name,) and I so agree we don’t have to look very far to find something beautiful, it can be any where. All we need do is see things in a positive light and we will easily start to find the beauty in everything around us.

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  6. Amazing, I always enjoy reading your posts Steve. I am a morning girl, but today we all overslept, luckily we have vacation. So I going around myself and do nothing… ha ha, but it is ok with a lazy day with my family.
    Take care Steve and thank you for a relaxing read.

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  8. You actually described it in a poetic way this time, all the beauty of the nature and the amazing sources she could provide 👌🌞 you are lucky you can enjoy this and appreciate it 😊 wish that people will be convinced that flowers die when we pick them! Better enjoy their beauty in nature or pictures 🌸
    The beaver is hardly showing but good shot though, and the pelicans are amazing! Many of them 😊
    Another beautiful sunny day 🌞 enjoy the rest of it and the weekend as well 😸 you’re right due to time difference some of us are not having coffee but I will today in few minutes 😊😸

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    • Thanks so much Huguette for saying that! With all the beauty we have around and so few people seem to really appreciate what we have, they don’t even notice all the things around them.🙄 Yes, I certainly need a better picture of a beaver. They are hard to get since most of the time they are out at night.😕 There are actually several animals I want to get this summer if possible, but so far they are escaping my camera!😂📷Enjoy your coffee!!😃☕

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  9. I enjoyed your description of the Sun and the breeze as the sun starts to warm the air creating the whisper of the breeze as you so beautifully put it! This also my favorite part of living on the lake! The Mornings! I can’t wait until next summer to get back there again!
    Thanks so much Steve for the reminder of Home!

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  10. Hey Steve! You are a mrng person too. That is an awesome view Kingfisher diving 😍, And such a eye treating pictures..🥰 and did u just say frogs😳, I’m not jumping there 😉 you captured beaver and pelicans 🤔 is it 35? .. Happy Weekend Steve✨😉

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    • Thank so much for reading Simon!! Wow, you are the first person to guess at the number, I won’t say just yet, but will let you know soon!😃🌞😺🌳Just in case someone else wants to guess at it.🤔 Have a great day and weekend!😀

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      • Amazing that no one else tried to guess the number of pelicans. You were very close, there is 37 of them. You have a good eye for things, it isn’t easy to count them. I spent several years studying birds for the National Audubon Society, the Canadian Wildlife Service and others, so I had to be accurate on my counting at times. However, being off by 2 would still be considered quite accurate. Good for you, enjoy your weekend!!😃🌞😺

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      • Hey Steve 🤗 How did i miss 2 🤔 ? They mustve gone for snacks while i count 😜.Thanks for the motivation. Glad i have some good eyesight 😳. 😁. Thanks for your time and for this lovely interaction🤗✨

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      • They may have been hiding behind one of the others just to make it harder for you!😂Always nice to have you here Simon, enjoy your day!😄🌞😸🌳

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  13. Really love reading this!!
    Absolutely! Beauty is everywhere, we just have to find it. So beautiful pictures ❤️ really I won’t have noticed the beaver, if you haven’t tell about it.. well, I think there are 37 pelican!!
    Have a great day

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    • Hi Jyoti! Thank you so much for reading and for your lovely comment! True, the beaver is hard to see, that’s why I had to mention it, hopefully one day I can get a good picture of one.😃📷 They don’t come out during the day too much so it’s hard. You are right, there are 37 of them, you have good eyes!😳 I hope your day has been going well!😄🌞😸🌳

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  15. Wow those pelicans! I can’t believe ai have missed so many of your posts! I don’t always see all of them on WP. Will have to go through a little at a time! Thanks for hating your walk! Lovely pics!

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    • Hi Renee! I’m surprised you have missed so many too, I didn’t think you had missed any actually! Glad you are enjoying them anyway. I wish I could get a little closer to those pelicans but it would entail a long and a bit more dangerous walk so guess I will have to be satisfied with what I was able to get. Thanks so much Renee, enjoy your day!!😃😺🌞📷🌳

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      • I know right? I could not believe it myself! I always enjoy Steves Country! Maybe you can get a closer shot one of these days! Thanks hope you enjoy your day as well!

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      • I keep hoping for a closer shot and it could happen. Have to be soon, they usually leave by the beginning of September.🙂📷🙄

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