Sun

I put in on the big lake. It is calm and unusually sunny. There is a smear at constant elevation through the clouds that rim most of the sky. Underneath one can see the first snows of the winter on the western faces of the Cascades. Above, in a few spots, cumulus clouds push through an invisible barrier, but not too high and not so high as the towering monster clouds that occur in the midwest. Only a few birds in the big lake, just some widely scattered grebes and cormorants. The white throat of the grebes is spotlit by the low bright sun. Once in Union Bay, there are many more buffleheads around and I spot a few green winged teal, which are probably moving through on their way to someplace a little further south of here. I just keep moving until I get to the south end of Portage Bay. Then I walk the canoe back up the hill.