Fall falls on Pleasant Lake

Fall on Pleasant Lake is a mix of misty cold days and explosions of Fall color in  Turtle Cove.  The lake level is being dropped around 4.5 feet for dam repair. It is all ready down over 3 feet which has exposed a lot of shallow lake bottom, including almost all of Turtle Cove. Fish can retreat to deeper waters, but turtles, frogs, salamanders, aquatic insects and water plants may be severely challenged if levels remain low for long or it gets very cold while the level is low.
Meanwhile, our loons (at least mother and chick) are still around and doing well. The chick is getting plenty to eat. The mother is beginning to molt to her winter plumage. That means she may soon depart for wintering grounds off the coast of Maine, leaving the chick to fend on its own before it too leaves for the ocean. But it is already well equipped for flying when the time comes. Many local and migrating birds are showing up in the air – like this pair of bald eagles and on the newly exposed lake bottom – Greater Yellowlegs in a Red Maple reflection at the edge of Turtle Cove.