Tagged With: Lake Frank

Beech Leaves, Lake Frank

Beech Leaves, Lake Frank

Beech Leaves, Lake Frank

It was a quite beautiful, late fall day today and some of us went on a walk around Lake Frank. We started and ended at Flower Valley Park on Hornbeam so we were starting a fair way from the lake. In total we walked about 4.75 miles but by the time I was thinking we might turn back we were about half the way around and there wasn’t much point. In addition to family on the walk were two old friends, by which I mean friends I’ve known for a long time, not that they are particularly old. It was good to get caught up on their families and lives. I really need to make more of an effort to keep up with people, but day to day life seems to get in the way.

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Lake Frank and Clouds

Lake Frank and Clouds

Lake Frank and Clouds

I stopped at the Avery Road parking lot above Lake Frank on the way home today. It was a beautiful, cool afternoon with—as you can see—billowy white clouds. This was taken with the sun at my back, looking northeast over the lake. I took a few the other direction, as well. This would be a good spot for sunset pictures, although it’s not somewhere you can just drive up to. It’s a few minutes walk down from the parking area. Still, if I am on my way home and there’s a good sunset coming on, it might be worth a try to get here in time. Of course, sunsets around the time I’m coming home are mostly a winter thing.

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Ornamental Grass

Ornamental Grass

Ornamental Grass

After church today we had a nice lunch with some friends. It’s good to have friends and these are among the best. It was a nice day so when we left them, we decided to to to Lake Frank and take a walk. We started at the south end of the lake and walked across the dam. From there we went through the woods on the Parilla Path to the Gude Trail, which we walked to where it hits a parking lot on Gude Drive. The round trip was a little short of three miles and it was quite pleasant. Walking west (outbound) we had the sun in our eyes, so the return journey was nicer, I think. But these tassels on some ornamental grass were nice, backlit by the afternoon sun.

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Lake Frank

Lake Frank

Lake Frank

As I mentioned, it’s begun to feel like autumn. Today was very windy and cool. After work I walked down to Lake Frank and took a few photos. The trees are just starting to turn and it was lovely to be out in the fresh, cool air. This photo was taken from the dam looking northwest along the length of the lake. It’s a three-exposure, high-dynamic-range (HDR) photo and I’m fairly pleased with how it turned out. There were a few others out walking, mostly wearing coats and hats against the suddenly cool weather. I was in my shirt sleeves, although I did roll them down while I was out on the dam, where the wind was strongest.

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Trees by Lake Frank

Trees by Lake Frank

Trees by Lake Frank

Cathy and I took a walk by Lake Frank this afternoon. With the weather turning cooler and of course with work during almost all the daylight hours, it’s really important to make a point to get outside when we can. On our walk, I took pictures of quite a few fruits on shrubs and vines. There were rose hips, oriental bittersweet, and I think some sort of privet. The water in the lake is a little low, at least by comparison to the last few times we’ve been here, when it was particularly high. The fall color was about at it’s peak or maybe just a little past. Pretty soon, the trees will be mostly bare and winter will be upon us.

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Millipede

Millipede

Millipede

We went for a walk in the woods towards Lake Frank this evening. I took a few pictures but nothing very special. As we were coming down the old road into the park a family ahead of us had stopped to see this millipede on the pavement. They laughed about the fact that they felt a need to take a picture of it. Obviously I understood completely and after they were gone I got down on the ground to get a few of my own. In the evening light I wasn’t able to get a lot of depth of field so most of them are only partially in focus but this one turned out pretty well. I’m not sure which of the many genera and species of millipede this is.

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Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Cathy and I took a walk to Lake Frank this afternoon. We walked along the shore of the lake towards the northeast end. We saw a belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), which was nice. Then we rounded the point and had a good look at the bald eagle’s nest, which you can see in the trees here. As we were looking, one of the adult bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) flew off the nest and I was able to get a reasonable photo. We see these birds reasonably often and it’s good to be reminded of how big, majestic, and beautiful they are. We’re really privileged to have this pair nesting here year after year.

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Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

It’s been a good year for bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) sightings. A little under a month ago (see Sunday, February 27, 2022) I got a photo of one of the nesting eagles flying over the nest. Today one of them flew right over our heads and then landed in a tree on our side of Lake Frank. I wasn’t able to get an unimpeded view but I was able to get relatively close. I’d still be happy to have a longer lens but I think this is pretty nice. Of course we’d see these on a daily basis in Juneau, but around hear, this sort of sighting is still somewhat rare and exciting.

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Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Cathy and I decided to go to Meadowside for a walk this afternoon. We walked back along the entrance road because we heard a barred owl (Strix varia) hoot. We didn’t find it and it stopped calling. I got a few photos of a northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) and then we walked down to the creak and back downstream to where the eagle’s nest is. One of the adult bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was perched on a tree near the nest and I got quite a few photos of it, although they were at a fairly steep angle up, so not as good as I’d like. Still, it’s nice to have a bald eagle in our neighborhood.

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Nannopterum auritum (Double-crested Cormorant)

Nannopterum auritum (Double-crested Cormorant)

Nannopterum auritum (Double-crested Cormorant)

Cathy and I drove to Meadowside Nature Center today and walked from there to Lake Frank. Crossing the meadow alongside North Branch Rock Creek, the weeds were quite tall and the path less obvious than usual. We also saw poison ivy a few times and since Cathy was wearing shorts, I carried her twice on my back. We had a hard time finding the trail that leads from there up over the ridge but eventually made our way to it. Down on the other side was saw this juvenile double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) on a log in the lake. I was able to get fairly close it order to get a good photo, although the lighting was a little rough.

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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

As mentioned in my previous post of the red-shouldered hawk on the street sign, we went to Lake Frank this afternoon. We hadn’t planned to walk as far as we did but ended up walking all the way around the lake. We saw two great blue herons (Ardea herodias). The first one was across the lake so I wasn’t able to get any good photos of that. Shortly after stopping to look at it, though, this one flew across in front of us. I didn’t have much time to focus, zoom, or frame the shot and was glad to get what I did. The very blue color of the bird has more to do with it being in the shadows than it’s natural coloring (per its name).

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Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

On the southeast part of Lake Frank is an old boat ramp from when the lake had road access to vehicles. Near that is a very tall oak tree. We’ve see one or the other of our local bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in that tree on more than one occasion. We saw it today, first from across the lake and then, when we got to that part of the trail from below. It was easier to spot, frankly, from across the lake. When you get close, you sort of have to know where to look. The best view turned out to be through the crook of this closer tree.

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Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)

One more bird photo from our walk around Lake Frank today. As we crossed the dam at the south end of the lake we saw this bird on a tree with fall colors reflected off the water behind it. I’m assuming it’s a double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum). Regardless, I’m fond of this photo. Looking back I didn’t take many pictures in October and those I took were concentrated on just a few days. Our lives are just that way right now, I guess. I take what I can get.

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