Sunday, October 7, 2007

At 4:30 a.m., Sunday morning, we were up and ready to go! The night was dark and the stars were Bright and Plentiful - I had not had this experience for some LONG time. We walked about a mile or so to a look-out tower located within the canopy of surrounding trees. We waited for the blush of early morning, and as it slowly appeared, so did the very faint and gradual sound of the many waterfowl. The ducks (mallards?) were the first to laughingly proclaim the arrival of morning. The light was still pale, but growing to a warm, golden hue.

(taken at 5:19 a.m.)Gradually the Sandhill Cranes began to awake... along with a solitary Canada Goose.
Did you know that Sandhill Cranes sleep in the water?
Their predators are coyotes and wolves. If these predators were to try to get at them, the Sandhill Cranes would be forewarned by their splashing.
(taken at 6:09 a.m.)

By the time this next photo was taken, we'd been in the tower for quite some time. And the noise level was increasing. What a beautiful sunrise. It cast a golden glow over everything.

The far left photo was taken of the foreground scenery at 6:14 a.m., while the near left photo was taken at 6:28 a.m., just prior to our leaving the observation tower.

(The lighting difference is more the case of the camera's angle.)

What wonderfully artistic compositions... and my hand had nothing to do with them.

Thank you, God!

Walking along the road, we so enjoyed the scenery. The golden sunlight bathed the trees, accentuating their colors (looking westerly at 6:38 a.m.).

The next photo shows the water that stands in so many roadway ditches (east side of the road at 6:52 a.m.), alongside the cranberry bogs, etc. It was explained later that the water table is only 3 feet below the surface of the ground in this part of Wisconsin.

(Note: A couple of coot float ahead of us... suspicious of our presence.)

This photo was taken of a tree (again, looking westerly) at 6:47 a.m. Although most of the trees are not yet showing color, I found this one to be quite unique and beautiful.

Upon returning to camp, we were served a wonderful Wisconsin outdoor breakfast! Eggs with cheese, sausage with cheese, muffins (were there cranberries in there?), etc.

A couple of boys found some wild cranberries. Because they'd been unprotected and suffered a freeze at some point, most of them were soft and inedible.

This was a memorable event. The DNR invites participants to this event every year. If you're interested in attending someday, just get in touch with Wisconsin tourism.