Good morning everyone even if it isn’t morning where you live!  It is a most beautiful morning here.  It is warm.  For us at least.  The sun is shining so brilliantly.  There is just the slightest breeze.  A perfect time for coffee by the lake once again.  This time I thought we would check out a different park for our coffee time.  It’s just a small park located close to our downtown section and right beside the lake.  It has beautiful flower beds, large shade trees and easy to access.  There is a parking lot right across the street with a walkway under the bridge and to the park.

This is McLeod Park.  Although the name is the same, it has nothing to do with me or my relatives.  It was named for one of the pioneer loggers in this area who later became the general manager of our large paper mill.  That paper mill closed years ago now, just couldn’t fight the competition.  That mill employed over 900 people.  Most of the employees moved away when the mill closed, shrinking the size of our little town.

This is a beautiful little park though.  There are picnic tables to use, plus several benches to sit on in the shade and look out over the lake.  There is a nice observation deck that sits high above the water to give a beautiful view of the surrounding area.  There is a nice path through the park.  It is a great place to get some wonderful pictures.  Many people have their wedding pictures taken here, a fantastic spot for that, with all the flowers, trees, natural rock and of course, the beautiful lake for a backdrop.

I remembered to bring lots of coffee, tea and hot chocolate for everyone.  Even though it’s a nice warm morning, down here by the lake in the shade it’s still nice to have something hot to drink.  We don’t need to worry about mosquitoes here either, which is a real benefit.  But please don’t go near the lake.  We are right beside one of the outlets to our river and the current is very strong along here.  Two people drowned here last summer, ignoring the large signs that warn about the current.  Even a strong swimmer is no match for that kind of current.  But we are at a safe location and such a lovely spot to share our coffee time.

So many beautiful flowers here and if we just look over to the one side of the park we can see our resident Canada geese.  They are all quite used to having people around so it’s possible to get close for some nice pictures.  The young geese look so cute, so fuzzy they look like stuffed toys.  Unfortunately I have yet to get a picture of them, even though they have been around a couple of times this summer.  Hopefully I can get a picture soon, some of them are starting to get quite big already.

There is so much to see from this park.  Several town landmarks can be seen from here, but that will have to wait for another time.  Several different warblers are singing from the trees here.  There is a yellow warbler and a chestnut-sided warbler.  Plus the ever present song sparrow which can always be found along the lake shore here.  It is a very peaceful and calming spot right here, a great place to relax and just look out over the lake.

Well, I see the clouds are starting to move in, looks like a thunderstorm will hit soon, so I guess it’s time to end our coffee in the park.  I hope you enjoyed it here today and we will be back here again soon.  Wherever you live, I hope you will be able to get out and enjoy the natural surroundings even for a little while this week and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

© 2019 Steve McLeod.