Feeding Frenzy at Pymatuning Lake

Last Saturday we headed to Pymatuning Lake in search of fall foliage. Unfortunately, the trees around the lake were not very advanced yet. We stopped at the spillway first and were amazed at the amount of birds that came up close to be fed. There were lots of Canada geese - yawn! - and some mallards and ring-billed gulls. I can't get too excited over photographing geese, so I concentrated on the gulls and the gazillion carps that were looking for food. I sincerely hope that their diet consists of something else besides white bread, but it was a sight to behold. While we didn't exactly see ducks walking on the carp, as they claim in town, we had never seen so many carps so close together.

We walked on a nature trail before we had a picnic near a beach. Then we checked out the Black Swamp area, but were disappointed at the fall colors. The myriad of lilies in the water were way past their prime and the trees looked dull. We did have a great view of this huge lake. We made one last stop at the fish hatchery and wished we had gone there earlier. We admired the view from here, but didn't have time to see the visitors center. Before heading home we stopped at the spillway again and the carps were a lot more lackluster about food than they were in the morning. I guess they were stuffed to the gills.

Kitty Update

I has been a while since I blogged about our new cat, Pocket. She has been with us for over three months now and has just turn one year old. That day at the shelter when I put her on my lap and she purred up a storm was also the last day she has spent time on my lap. So far, Pocket likes her independence and loves to sit on a blanket or quilt. Most of all she loves to watch the wildlife from the window. We're hoping that she will turn into a lap cat once winter comes. Right now, she is the equivalent of a teenager--at least her appetite is that of a teenager. Her favorite toy is a piece of paper rolled up into a ball. She loves to kick it around and even fetches it. Last night, we clipped her claws for the first time and she behaved very well. The clipping was necessary since she has started to claw our chairs, and the old wallpaper in our dining room. Perhaps that is her way of telling us to do some home improvements...