Sunday’s Solitude.

Hi everyone and Happy Sunday! Here we are in November already and today it really doesn’t feel like November. It is a beautiful sunny day, though there is a very strong wind, and it is very warm for this time of year. The temperature right now is 48F (9C) and it’s only noon. Interestingly, yesterday it was snowing! Such a difference from one day to the next.

But a nice, sunny, mild day like this is a wonderful type of day to sit outside by the lake and just enjoy the quiet solitude of a late fall day. Listening to some blue jays calling in the distance and perhaps seeing one flying over the tops of the trees possibly heading to its favorite bird feeder hoping to find some peanuts or sunflower seeds.

Then listening to some black-capped chickadees in a spruce tree close by as they “talk” to each other with various little chirps and the odd time singing out its name. Soon you get a chance to see them as they hunt through the branches looking for some insects. They pick up a few among the spruce needles and find more behind the bark of the tree.

Some they will eat now and others they take and hide in special spots for their winter food supply. It is basically calm on the lake along the shore where we sit in this tiny memorial park. There is only one other person here on this day, also enjoying the quiet solitude this little park has to offer. Cattails grow in abundance along the shore and most have broken open revealing their fluffy seeds that the wind will blow around to other parts of the lake where some will take root and eventually another patch of cattails will be present.

Other plants and shrubs grow along the shore as well, including what looks like pincherry bushes. A small outcropping of granite rock shows up along the shore in one spot. There is a lot of granite in our area, basically, that is what we have in this area, granite, and lots of it.

There is not much soil in our area, except in certain small locations. I love all this granite, the different varieties and different colors that can be found. I love collecting rocks and minerals. Some people have a hard time telling the difference between the two. Rocks are made from minerals, but minerals are not rocks. Oh well.

Now we hear the “gronk” sound of a pair of ravens on the other side of the lake. It is a sort of odd sound they make. I do enjoy sitting beside a lake on a day like this. The quietness. The solitude. The beauty. There is nothing quite like it. Well, I hope you enjoyed our time by the lake today, and the photos. Have a great day and God bless!

Steve and Muffin. ©2025 Steve McLeod.