SS MINNOW ON MELTON HILL

 All pictures on this entry were taken with a 70-300 mm Canon.  I sure missed the 150-500 mm but I'll live.  I can't drag all that stuff around on a tiny boat.
I had a doctor's appointment over in Ft Loudon and that was an excuse to take the little 60 year old boat that Clarissa has affectionately named the SS Minnow to Melton Hill lake which is ten minutes from the doctor office.

Clarissa is holding the boat while I park the trailer.  Speaking of trailers, look at this ancient apparatus below:

When's the last time you saw coil springs on a boat trailer?  The boat isn't fun to load onto the trailer.  I have a modification in mind to help the load process.

We cruised along enjoying the very warm morning and pulled over for a break at a little boat ramp we found. 

 I noticed butterflies immediately.  They were flitting about and landing on a spot on the shoreline.

I noticed a little king bird sitting in a tree with yellow blooms trailing on trellis like vines.  He was perfect for photographing.  A Hollywood set couldn't have been made more beautiful.

The day was hot and the water smooth but all things must end and we headed back to the truck after a few hours.  A red tail hawk was sitting in a tree far out on the hillside.  I doubted I could do much about photographing him at that distance but gave it a try.

I have a movie clip on my face book page you might like to see.  It is the Minnow blasting along the lake.  That thing is amazing for being a 1955 model boat.  I'll try to upload the second clip I took to this page.