Morning in the city

I took off this morning to explore the city. It was cloudy with a little fog and morning mist. I started at Barnum Park, where I photographed last weekend and then drove from that park to Sloan's Lake that I photographed on Wednesday. I love the old city neighborhoods. The houses are so interesting, especially compared to where I live in the suburbs where all of the houses are divided into about 5 models with a few variations of each.

Just off of the shore at Sloan’s Lake there were a series of moss-covered posts that formed resting pads for a group of cormorants. The birds stand on these posts and slowly flap their wings. Biologists disagree on the reason for this but theories include drying their feathers, regulating their body temperature or announcing how successful their fishing has been! Apparently, cormorants don't have very much oil on their feathers and this allows them to be less buoyant which enhances their ability to dive. There were at least a dozen of these perches but only about 5 of them were prized. Each new cormorant that swam near fought off a bird already sitting on one rather than simply going to an empty one.

This lake is a popular water skiing attraction but no boats were out this early. Then off in the distance I could see a kayak heading in my direction. I got my camera set up and waited patiently for it to get close. It passed right by me and the person in the kayak made a funny face as if to say, "sorry to get in the way of your cormorant photo". I just said a hearty good morning as the camera clicked her photo with the cormorants in the background. That would be a very peaceful hobby - early morning jaunt around the lake before any of the powerboats and crowds filled up the park. She only had to share the lake with the birds!

For a few more photos (with descriptions)