The forecast called for temperatures reaching the freezing level overnight which meant a possible foggy sunrise with the water temperatures well over freezing now. Waking up to catch the sunrise now means 5am or earlier. Just before 5 I woke up and looked outside. No clouds in the sky so likely a normal sunrise. No need to rush to get out of the house. Gathering up the camera, batteries, and some food for a morning out at the park I eventually made it to the car. Opening up the garage door and pulling out I could see the horizon lit up with deep red colors hanging on the few clouds low in the sky. Frustration entered as I was missing a beautiful sunrise. I quickly headed for a park closer than I planned to see if I could capture some of these colors but failed. By the time I got there the deep colors had faded. Well, on to my original destination. Of course I could not seem to get there as I passed the first turn, and then the second forcing me to drive most of the way around a lake to finally arrive at the park I was headed for.

Walking to an area I scouted out the day before I noticed some fog and a little frost on the ground here and there. The photo at the top shows the best I could come up with as the sun rose above the trees. While I like the picture, it’s not what I had in mind or was hoping for. Being able to watch a sunrise is still a soothing start to any day though. There were some interesting frost covered plants to enjoy briefly before temperatures rose. I spent a little time taking in some of the interesting patterns created by these little ice crystals before heading to a water side perch to see what wildlife was out and about. Most of the wildlife consisted of Red-Winged Blackbirds and a pair of Canadian Geese. After an hour I decided to move and scout some other areas for Showy Orchis habitat. Minnesota’s earliest native orchids to bloom which use to be much more plentiful but now a bit more challenging to locate.

As I left my waterside hideout and began walking a Great Blue Heron came flying by and landed in a great spot if I was still settled in my original spot. Another missed opportunity! Feeling even more defeated now I decided to hit a trail. This trail winds around this area of water with a nice open spot to see the surroundings since plants are not fully grown yet. I decided to walk off trail a little and check out the water to see if I could find this heron. Maybe there would be a photo opportunity yet. As I approached I scanned the waters edge for this large bird. About to give up I spotted it not more than 20 feet away. They never let people get that close without flying away. I decided to back away and find a place to sit. Maybe it would move on down the shoreline towards me for some nice pictures. No such luck. It moved a little towards my direction and then snagged a good size fish out of the water. The camera would not focus on the bird as it was behind quite a bit of grass and a tree branch. Soon after a boat came drifting into the area forcing this heron to move away further. Disappointed I continued on my search for Orchis habitat. Unfortunately I didn’t find that either. It really felt like a bit of a bust for the morning. I’m still glad I got out for a few hours to enjoy a bit of nature. Some outings are like that while others provide several opportunities. You just never know.