DECEPTIVE BEAUTY

I talked to a fisherman today from North Carolina who made the comment that he likes how Cherokee Lake changes with the seasons because it's like visiting two lakes in the same place when he travels over here to fish.  That's the first time I ever heard that kind of comment.  Either people like it or they don't and the fishermen like it when the water level is lowered.  As for me - I think it's pretty at times in both Winter when it's lowered and in the Spring and Summer when it's at full pool, preferring it to be full.  For the most part I think the lake is a fakir and uses deception to create the illusion of beauty.  I don't like to be fooled.  Maybe it's the temporary perception of lovely beauty that changes with the seasons.  One thing for sure - wildlife habitat for any shoreline creatures is void and I have no use for an unfriendly animal environment.

Below is a couple shots of the lake in June.

The pictures above shot the lake at full pool (full of water.)  Now, look below and see it today after the water has been lowered.

The shades of brown are nice but the unnatural condition of the shoreline makes my eyes reject it.  There is no way any water mammal can exist on that shoreline.  If the beaver has a burrow in the Summer - that burrow will be 50 feet up the side of a cliff in the Winter.  If the burrow is formed now, in the Fall, it will be 50 feet under water in the Summer.  That's why it's so hard to find critters on Cherokee Lake.

Shade was needing to stop for a moment and I pulled against a gravel shoreline for her.

OK girl, we'll stop just ahead.

Even Shade has a difficult time negotiating the rough surface of the shoreline.  She usually heads uphill to the treeline during breaks.

Terrible.  Well, the lake is an impoundment designed as a flood control measure and to produce hydroelectric power.  Aesthetics wasn't part of the design.  Anyone want to build a house on these shorelines?  Many do and I'll never understand it.

 Come on Shade - lets get off this desert island.

Above is the only colorful thing I saw all morning.
By the way, are you sure you want to live on the shores of Cherokee Lake?  Below is where your boat dock will be and if the boats tied to it - it will be on it's side beside the dock.  As far as the house goes - who knows?

We continued on our way, skirting the shoreline.

I didn't see the deer at first, only a shade of gray that didn't belong on the shoreline.

They were skittish with one doe in particular that wouldn't take her eyes off the boat.

The boat was rocking and rolling on waves and these shots were tough to get.  No luck.

 The moment was a delight and a wonderful diversion from looking at rocks for most of the morning.  Even the deer look out of place because they are.

And then the mountain top appeared that I came so close to hitting last week.  It's unmarked too.

 That thing would send a boat to the bottom, which in this case is about ten feet.  Sorta funny.  Gotta remember that last week these rock tips were below the surface about six inches.  I took a short movie of the wind blowing water over them.

The common loons were on the water again.  Actually, they were all over the water.  They're gassing up for a long fly North.

 Some birds are displaying their Winter, breeding plumage while others are still wearing the normal gray/brown regular clothes.  See below.

Well, that's about all I could come up with today.  It's a sorry place to photograph wildlife.  We'll see how the river does tomorrow afternoon.