The Color Gray

It is very gray today. I don't even get a photo worth printing. Last night, it snowed about 3 inches. It was wet sloppy stuff, the snow that breaks branches off and knocks alder saplings into an impenetrable haystack weave. This same stuff normally disappears fast as it is often accompanied by weather that climbs into the 40's. It did, and it did.
As I started today, I did not see the heron that usually sits in the trees near the put-in. Of course, after I paddled 50 yards, it took off "out of nowhere" right over my head. The ducks are still in large flocks in the center of the bay. I don't see the eagles, but I'm pretty sure they are around as the entire flock suddenly lifts off and moves to the east. I spot six swan on the east side of the bay - I am on the west side - they are about 1 mile distant. This is a short trip today. I've been doing paperwork (the secret fun part of being an artist) and my brain needs a reboot. I spot the eagles in the NW corner of the bay, but they move off. They are hunting, but too far away for me to observe. I stay near the marshy islands as a stiff wind will be blowing in my face when I paddle out. No one else is around. Everyone can tell you what the bay is like when it is sunny, when it is calm, when it hasn't snowed. I circle Foster Island. It was once a burial ground, although the burials were in boxes placed in trees. That was a long time ago when the lake was deeper and the bay was larger and one could not find old tennis balls in the cattails.