A SENSATIONAL MORNING ON CHEROKEE LAKE

Right at sun up is the best time to be on a lake in East Tennessee.

I wanted to be on the boat ramp before the Sunday crowd arrived so I could get a parking spot and get out there on the water to avoid the rush.  There wasn't a soul on the boat ramp parking lot.  Oh well - that's alright by me.

A gentle breeze was blowing as the big engine idled out into the bay.

 A couple families of geese were slowly making their way across the lake.  It seems they like to swim to the islands that lay dead center in the river channel, or center of the lake.

 The bunch here in these two shots are older than the ones in the first shot in the series.

 A great egret makes his way along the dark shoreline headed for his breakfast bar on a stony point just ahead.  He'll find shad in that area as well as bluegills.

And my old friend the black crowned night heron appears out of nowhere.  How beautiful he is.  Another black crowned flies past my boat and I try a hip shot with the 500 mm lens.

I've had better snap shot results but this one isn't too bad.  Lucky shot!

Below:  Great Egret

 Below:  Double Crested Cormorant

 Below:  Great Blue Heron

And, then a discovery.  Look at the roses.  I found a shoreline with about a half acre of these roses on it.  They are even climbing high into the trees.  The property is TVA property too.  What a display of color!  Amazing!

 These are not wild, indigenous roses as one might think.  These are domestic runaways.  They probably were planted on farms and along homes back before the dams plugged up the river and everything was flooded.  These roses are a link to a rich East Tennessee past.  They have to date back 60 years and more.

And then it happened!  A tremendous roar that shook leaves off the trees and something big and silver flashed by the mouth of the cove I was in.  Holy Tomolie!!!

 It had to be going at least a hundred miles per hour.  At least!

 It banked to the right and was gone in an instant.

 Look at that rooster tail!  This is one reason I wouldn't recommend swimming in the center of the river channel on Cherokee Lake.  I'm sure this guy could see everything that was in the water in front of him......

Actually, the morning was the best one I've had in a month.  Quiet.  Quiet!  Thanks for checking out the blog.  I'm getting better posting here - just a little.