a few weeks ago i went up to pond lick lake near my house early in the morning just to relax and maybe do a bit of herping. i would like to share my experiences that morning with you.


it was a cool, crisp morning as most mornings are here. as i stepped from the car the first thing that i noticed was the ethereal smoke that hugged the water's surface. it rose up thickly
for about two feet or so above the lake's surface before it gave way to clearer air. the warm water and cooler air clashed to produce this sight. only on windless days was this possible.
the lake was dead calm like glass except for the occasional disturbance of a fish or newt that would break the surface. the air was still as the morning sun began to slowly break over the
hills to the east. the sky, clear and blue with only the waining half moon interrupting the pristine blueness of it. i could see my own breath as i exhaled and i shivered in response to the
early morning chill. most of the green hills that surrounded me were cloaked in clouds as was typical in the mornings here. i knew that it would not be but a few hours until the sun burned
off the mist bringing clarity to the scene. as i walked down toward the deep end of the lake where the spillway was, my hiking boots quickly became damp from the heavy dew on the grass. it
was silent except for the occasional bullfrog call. there were some old limestone steps that led to the spillway that i walked down to have a sit and to gain a full veiw of the lake. as i sat
down next to the water's edge, i saw a small school of this year's baby bluegill's timidly foraging in the shallows. they seemed to egg each other on to explore and find a morsel to eat. to
my right along the eastern shore of the lake was a row of thick cattails that ran the lenght of the straight bank. they choked about three feet of the water's edge giving way to lilly pads and
aquatic plants that extened their leaves and flowers above the surface of the lake. beyond this zone of vegetation the water was open. the lake's color was a homogenous shade of dense
green that was dark during this time of day due to the lack of direct sunlight. i knew from experience that this green color would soon become a bright, living green as the sun penetrated it
revealing everything for a good three feet below the water's surface. near my feet where the water was shallow, maybe six inches in depth, a red-spotted newt caught my eye. newt's
characteristicly shoot straight to the surface from below popping their heads above the surface to gulp a breath of air and then would become motionless. with their arms extended, they
let themselves slowy sink back down into the greeness, dissapearing from veiw. as i slowly scanned the shoreline of this lake, i took in the beauty of the forest as it crowded itself right up
to the water's edge. this lake was an island in an ocean of deep forest. there are no clear banks here. the forest exploited every square inch of earth in it's quest for sunlight. the mixed
forest of predominately oak and maple trees gave way to a dark stand of hemlock trees across the lake from me that added a pleasing accent to the otherwise unbroken sea of leaves.
rugged hill after hill rose nearly straight up from the lake and looked soft and fluffy to my eyes from the many tree crowns that made up the canopy. from this vantage point next to the
spillway, i could discern through the morning haze, the lake's inlet where pond lick creek emptied into it. year upon year of seasonal floods during rain events had filled that portion of the
lake with limestone rock and soil, creating a wetland habitat. there tall grasses and water loving plants grew. the lake water was very shallow in that area and the fresh creek water made it
crystal clear, an oasis of wetland. that is where i planned to go later that day.

..... to be continued..... sorry about the lack of paragraphs... i'm paragraph challenged.

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very good, look forward to reading more.

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lizards - frogs - salamanders -torts
newts - dogs - cats - rats

cant wait to read more

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next to the stand of hemlocks were two rounded piles of sticks and other lake debris. separated by about thirty feet, i recognised them as beaver lodges. the one to the left was the male's lodge and the other, just to it's right was the female's. beaver live separate lives for the most part. the male had his house while the female had her own where she raises her young. i hoped to glimpse at least one of these beaver today. they are normally active in the early morning and right before dusk. just then, a motion caught my eye in the water right in front of me from beneath a patch of lilly pads. below the water's surface, about six inches down was a largemouth bass that was a good twelve to fourteen inches in length. he had ventured out from under the pads to patrol his territory. bass love cover. they are ambush predators for the most part and use the concealment of vegetation to hide and lie in wait for some unwary fish, frog or other animal to blunder by, unaware of the danger that lurks below in the shadows. the bass swam around the edges of his lair, paused a few times and then retreated back to where he came, satisfied i supposed with the situation. at this point i decided to explore the lake's shoreline a little closer and got up and headed to my left along the roadside section of the lake. although a thin stand of trees separated pond lick lake from the road, there were several pull-offs and paths that led down to the water from the occasional fisherman that visit here. fishermen always pick the best spots to fish and unknowingly the best places to veiw wildlife. the one thing that i like about this place is even with visitors is that there is no trash to speak of. i've been to many other places where people fish and almost without exception i could see the typical garbage associated with fishing spots and human activity. here there is none of that.they here have a couple of old 55 gallon drums that are placed here by the forestry people for refuse. the nice thing is that people actually use them. i began making my way down a path that had a fine vista. the ground was grassy and clean owing to the lack of traffic and litter aware-people. the only man made item that i could see was a small, roughly hewn bench that was grey with age. no paint, it blended in well with the environment. i stepped over to the bank that dropped straight down about a foot. the water was shallow and i could see the bottom. i scanned the area which i have a habit of doing without thinking out of habit and noticed maybe a dozen round depressions in the mud bottom. each deppression was about 5 to 6 inches in diameter and very uniform. these i knew were fish nests made by the bass in the lake during the recent spawning season that had just past. now there were no bass here to be seen, their season was over. next to several of these deppressions however were several large bluegill fish hovering in the water column. these were male bluegills that had taken advantage of the bass nests and were guarding them from other males while attempting to attract a nice female of their kind. they would from time to time take a break from their guard duties and scoop out a bit of mud or move a pebble from their nest to make them look as good as possible to a potiential mate. now and then, one male would charge at another male near him making sure that the other knew just who owned this particular piece of real estate. i couldn't help but to be aware of the smile on my face just then while watching them. these guys were almost comical in their non-stop efforts. i spent a few minutes observing them and then turned my attention elsewhere.

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quite the writer.

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lizards - frogs - salamanders -torts
newts - dogs - cats - rats

Next part please

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i took a break...

i looked across the lake towards the western side. the sun was finally hitting the very tops of the hills. they were still mostly covered with clouds but the clouds were beginning to thin out and more of the forest's canopy was being exposed. within the next couple of hours the sun's rays would steadily march down the emerald slopes till it met the far side of the lake. then gradually slide across the lake's surface until it was directly overhead. by then it would be hot and everything flooded with brilliant sunshine. as for now the sun was just lifting above the ridge behind me but i knew that it's progress would be rapid and things would change swiftly. things would be much more active than it is right now on this sleepy early morning.

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very captivating, i too am quite fortunate to live in suc close proximity to nature (though the grass always seems greener on the other side)

i was in the shade under the trees. making my way to my left again i followed a fisherman's trail that lead to another pleasant spot that was out in the open. as i made my way along i could smell the heavy fragrance of the honeysuckle that hung heavy in the air. i moved along to my destination as the trees gave way to sky and the grass was replaced by clover and their big, purple flowers. i took notice that the honey bees were already doing their busy and useful work gathering pollen and nectar. they along with quite a few bumble bees monopolized the blooms. a rather large patch of honey suckle separated that me from the road, which hugged the eastern side of the lake and continued on up into the higher country. just then, a loud, distinct buzz filled the air. i knew that sound and quickly scanned the blooms for the source. there it was, a metallic emerald green humming bird just feet away from me. he paid no interest in my presence, he just carried on with his work probing every flower that looked promising to his discerning eye. i focused at his activities intently because i knew that he would make quick work of this area and move on to finish the rest of his morning feeding rounds. he was a male. i could tell by his rasberry colored throat-patch. i've always been amazed at humming birds with their abilities to manouver and seemigly effortless flying skills. more like large insects than actual birds, humming birds confidently fly, daring to come within a foot or two of you.

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he soon flew away as i had predicted, so i continued with my day. just up ahead of me was an identical bench as the one i saw earlier. this one however was out in the open. it was cool and shady now but in a few hours this spot would have the blazing sun beating down upon it. i sat down on the old bench and gazed across the lake. the smokey mist was nearly gone by now at the water's surface and things were getting much clearer as the morning light intensified. the opposite bank was comming into better focus as the hazy water vapor thinned. on the very edge of the far side i could just make out some movement. i could just make out a small wake in the water. it was barely there but there all the same. what was responsible for it i couldn't say at this point. my eyes strained ever harder to see and make out some sort of familiar shape. then there it was, yes definately, a clue. i could just make out a tiny patch of green traveling towards the south, just barely moving, almost not there.

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