HOLSTON RIVER AGAIN - and it's a sunny day

I won't post any movie clips this entry - promise.  I posted all those clips on the last entry just to see how it would work out.  It's time consuming to do an entry that way.

Its been a while since I've been to the Holston River at the John Sevier Steam Plant and I really looked forward to this mornings visit.  This morning held no outstanding, earth shaking events but I did come across a really neat little duck I have not seen previous to today.

The land and waterscapes are stunning this morning

The two little ducks made their way ahead of the boat constantly keeping an eye on me.  They may be common in these waters.  I don't know.  My field guide indicates they winter in the South.  Who knows why they're still here.

They flew a short distance ahead of me and landed directly in front of the boat.

Above is a male lesser scaup

Below is the female

This end of the Holston River is like a bird zoo.  I see a different species every time I come here.

The scenery today was eye candy.  This is one of the prettiest places I know of in Tennessee.  The other one is Calderwood Lake.

 These two mallards are here every day, on the same muddy point of the same island.  

I drove past the eagle's nest that sits high up on the mountain side but could not view it.  The nest is covered in a canopy of rich green foliage that prevents even the slightest glimpse behind it.

I didn't see many critters today due to the bright sun.  Otters, those that are left, and beavers are no doubt in their dens sleeping.  They'll be out when the sun starts to set. But, the scenery is outstanding today.  The green is reaching out into the water from the shorelines.  I took a picture of the beaver dam as I passed by.  This is a pretty little spot.  Sometime I'll paddle the canoe up here and walk around the pond he has created behind his dam.

The morning went too fast.  Yes, too fast.  I didn't want to leave but the job was done.  I saw a fisherman at the boat dock as I pulled into the little boat ramp and went over to talk to him.  

I introduced myself to the angler and he turned out to be a nice, polite young man.  He said he had a smallmouth bass in the livewell of his boat and wanted to get a picture of it with the camera he had in his truck.  I asked him if he minded if I weighed the fish and he became excited about that.  I also took a picture of the fish before he released it.  Yes - he released it unharmed.  I watched it swim away from the shoreline like a bullet.  The bass was fine.

The bass weighed 4.3 pounds.  It isn't the largest fish I've ever seen but it was a very nice fish.  He released it back into the water immediately after these pictures were taken.  I told him it was a commendable act to do that and I called him a sportsman for doing it, which is what this guy really is - a sportsman.  

I pulled my boat out of the water and looked down the waterway one last time before climbing into the truck.

I had to get home and mow the  *X@#!  grass.