Sams Lake Sanctuary

Yesterday morning I spent some time at Sams Lake Sanctuary. This property is close to my house and one of the properties owned and managed by Southern Conservation Trust. Their website has maps of the properties they manage and directions to them.

I had an event scheduled by the SCT -- to be on hand and invite anyone interested to come out to photograph early morning at the lake. Since we are now back on standard time -- I arrived at 6:30am to be there as the sun come up. When I first arrived in the parking lot -- it was still pretty dark. I could see quite a bit of mist rising from the water. Another member of the photo club showed up at about the same time. We walked out near the water to look around and take a few shots of the early morning.

For future reference, I timed sunrise to when the sun rose above the tree line. When the sun comes above the trees at the main lake area -- the light goes from great to very harsh. I took about 35 minutes after sunrise for that to happen. Now I know if I want to get over there early -- what my timeline is. On many mornings while I am walking Sadie I look at the sky and think that the colors are great and I should hurry over to the lake for some photos.

I really like these two photos. At first I did not know there were any geese around -- the mist was heavy and it was dark. As it become brighter, some of the geese took flight. The beaver lodge is also a great focal point for photos.

It can be a little wet and marshy around the lake area. I have a great pair of boots -- I call them my "Target Wellies." Sometimes I wish I had waders like my granddaddy wore when he would go fishing. Thank goodness I wore them yesterday -- I walked through a small streamlet to get to another area of the wetland. Also I stood in the water at the edge of the lake. My feet were dry -- but I could feel how cold the water was through the boots. It was cold. I dressed warmly wearing a turtleneck under a thick woolly sweater. To have my hands free and not to have to haul a bag -- I packed the pockets of my vest (that great Safari vest from Cabela's) with the gear I needed. To help keep my hands warm I wore the winter golf gloves. They kept my hands warm -- except for my pinkies -- they got so cold!

Sams Lake Sanctuary is part of the site specific category for Nature Undisturbed. The call for entries for this show ends January 30, 2010. Check out the website (or the link on this blog page) for details on the show and to print an application. If anyone reading has any question about the show, please feel free to email me.