Here Comes Spring

Rainbow Trout, February 19.

Until yesterday I had not caught any trout since January 5. The two times I had gone after that were brutal, the cold and wind. Oh, well. If this had been a normal winter here in southeast Utah the lake would have frozen much earlier and the snow much deeper than it has been.

East end of the lake from the dam, February 19.

Back then in early January the lake had opened partially. I had trudged along the part of the dam shoreline that was open, having to keep back from the thin shelf ice. I caught a couple of rainbow trout and then retreated first to my vehicle, then home.

Northeast corner of the lake, Jan. 5.

Over the past few weeks much warmer weather has taken hold. A few light snow storms, but mostly melting of the deep snows that had pointed the local mule deer down to lower elevations where their food would not take so much energy to get to.

Last trout of the winter, Jan. 5.

Yesterday the deer were back. Trout and deer, a good indication of early spring, even at 7,000 feet in late February.

Photo location: San Juan County, southeast Utah.

See more of my photography on my website at www.NaturalMoment.com.

© Copyright 2017 Stephen J. Krieg

The Iceman Cometh

Partially melted and refrozen ice "berries" on weed twigs.

I was at the lake last week to do more trout fishing, before the weather gets too brutal here at 7,000 feet in elevation. It gets me into the outdoors for several hours a day in a way that I otherwise wouldn't be. So it's good.

Standing in and walking around a relatively small area outside for hours allows me to relax into the scenery, the weather, while watching the birds move around doing their thing. Their things.

For instance, the other day when I got to the lake shore at my favorite, most productive spot, I saw that the lake was starting to freeze. Only in one small protected cove, but that's how it starts. It caused me to realize that I was going to get to watch the lake freeze over, stage by stage, for the winter. Then I will watch it lie dormant, frozen and snow covered through the "dead" of winter. Then watch it start to re-emerge in several months as springtime returns. I'm looking forward to that. I have the time, the convenient proximity to the lake, and the health to be out there daily if I want.

Early ice shelf on a protected cove on the lake.

Besides the beauty of the modest ice shelf itself, I became intrigued by some somewhat spherical "blobs' of ice that were on the stalks of weeds a few inches above the surface of the ice sheet. It wasn't hard to guess how they had come to be.

They formed when the lake level was as couple inches higher. It had been cold enough to freeze around the twigs a little bit, probably with a gentle lap of the water's surface with a gently breeze. That's my guess.

The Abajo Mountains in the distance, source of the lake's water.

Then the lake level dropped with the colder weather,  because the stream that feeds it reduced in flow as its headwaters in the mountain slopes above became frozen. The lake continues to evaporate slowly while its water supply from the mountains is all but shut off by winter's freeze up higher.

Ice berries on dead weeds, sparkling in the cold sunlight.

As for the ice "berries", the sunlight partially melted them during the day, while it stayed cold enough to not melt them entirely. Pretty amazing.

The ice berries were so gorgeous that I had to suspend my fishing to photograph them.

Rainbow trout, perfect pan frying size.

Photo location: San Juan County, southeast Utah.

Prints and photo products are available on my Fine Art America sales website:
http://stephen-krieg.pixels.com/

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg

Fish and Fall Colors, Abajo Peak

Aspen fall colors and Blue Spruce, Abajo Peak Road.

October, the perfect month. Warm days, chilly nights, fall foliage colors. Here I am still in southeast Utah, enjoying the scenery, clean air, small town atmosphere, wide open spaces.

Rainbow Trout, perfect pan frying size, too.

Not only that but I recently bought my fishing license, after being away from it for decades. Following a tip from a local, I was soon catching my limit of four trout from a local lake. They are in the 9 to 12 inch range, perfect for pan frying.

Aspen at peak fall colors, Abajo Peak area.

 So having once again caught my limit that morning, I drove up Abajo Peak Road to see how the aspen colors had progressed in the past week. Pretty magnificent, at peak colors.

Aspen fall foliage backlit by the midmorning sunlight.

From up near the summit of Abajo Peak, I noted how the uppermost aspen clones, the ones that had turned the earliest, were now done, their leaves dropped. Now it was time for the lower elevation forest groups to show off their peak colors.

Looking southeast from Abajo Peak.

Photo location: Abajo Mountains, near Monticello, Utah.

Prints and photo products are available on my Fine Art America sales website:
http://stephen-krieg.pixels.com/

© Copyright 2016 Stephen J. Krieg