Sunday, February 15, 2009

Icy Carpenter Lake

Yesterday I showed you my new play area, and today I'm going to show you why it is there. I know I promised to shake your soul with today's post. So I'm a liar. I can't help it. Maybe if you keep reading you might shake a little bit. Probably with anger at my deception.

I'm just kidding. But you did get a little angry, didn't you? Maybe you won't shake, you'll just shiver with cold when you see what I'm about to show you. It's a lake, but not just any lake. It's Carpenter Lake, and it is frozen almost solid.

This lake is where the walkway that I talked about yesterday leads to. It looked like yesterday that it was only built for fun, but it has a good purpose. Most of this walkway is hovering over the top of this lake. It's main purpose is to be a viewing area and a fishing spot.

I took this photo while I was looking directly across the lake. You can see a house in the very back. Across the lake is a suburban neighborhood. The road that goes down the other side of those houses is a busy one. I've traveled that road many times.

All of those houses are the main reason that I didn't know that Carpenter Lake, and this nature park existed. I've been driving around here for years, but I never saw this place. I thought it was just another part of that neighborhood. I knew that the woods were here, but I didn't know they made this place.

Towards the front of the picture, there on the ice is what used to be a skating rink that somebody made. You can see some very shiny areas on the ice there. There are also footprints crisscrossing the ice. Those shiny spots are a good indication that it's not safe to walk across this ice anymore.

Here is what it looks like upriver from this little viewing area that I'm standing on. That's the direction I came from. Where I am now is about halfway to the back of the nature preserve. I do seem to remember driving over a bridge when I came here, but it was only a small river back there.

I really don't know what the trail running through the snow is from. I am guessing it is from a snow shovel. It leads right up to the skating rink. I don't know why they cleared a path in this direction. I was assuming that it was people from the houses that made the rink. Maybe not.

This last photo is downstream from my viewing area, and there is something very interesting in that direction. That's what I was actually talking about when I said I'd steal, uh, shake your soul and stir your imagination. I meant to show it to you today, but I remembered that I wanted to show this to you first.

Here at the end of today's slightly obnoxious little story, I'd just like to mention that I still had Alice with me. I haven't forgotten about her, but showing this lake to you didn't really involve her that much. She did have something to say at the time, but that is another story completely.

I promise to tell that one on Friday, because I'm going to put my own little fictional twist on the strange thing she came up with while we were here. I was going to use that one today, but it's a little too strange to be considered anything less than fiction.

Lastly, this lake isn't very big, and it looks like it might be man made. There are several indications of that. One of which I'll be showing you tomorrow. See you then.


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12 comments:

  1. I just wanted to know if you could take a picture of Alice and one of her buds?

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  2. I'm so tired of the ice!!!!!!!! GRRR!!!!!!!!!!1

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  3. I'm wondering what the sign said in the first photo. Could it be one of those seasonal 'No Swimming' jokes?

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  4. I love it when someplace that I thought was just more ordinary houses or whatever turns out to be a place one can visit and play. Nice viewing platform. I know you'll show us again in the summer.

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  5. This should be a scenic place for having a viewing platform. She might be shy to show during winter time. Am I right?

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  6. Anonymous - The ice will be here for awhile, but I'm tired of it too. It's never icy in Wonderland, go ask Alice.
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    WiseAcre - I almost posted a closeup of the sign, but it didn't fit in the post. There's another area up ahead with a similar sign, so I'll be sure to post it.
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    Sharkbytes - That's what I love about this place. I'll be showing more of it before summer. I want to see what it looks like when the ice begins to melt.
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    Rainfield - Yes, you are very right. When it warms up here and the leaves return to the trees, this will be an absolutely beautiful place.

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  7. I can't wait to see the place with the bridge over the lake with shimmering water, I believe it would be very lovely!! To watch the fish from the bridge.

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  8. Betchai - On the welcome sign at the front of the park, it says that there are a lot of fish in the lake. I'm waiting for the water and the leaves all to come back. This place is going to be wonderful.

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  9. The snowscape is sooo beautiful

    Right here, I am suffering the severe heat from Australian sun and drought...

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  10. Ok Ill ask Alice if I ever see her.

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  11. Hi Ratty: I am on the road at a hotel and catching up with my blog reading! We are in Ohio, right on the West Virginia border,ready to go thru some mountains tomorrow.
    Your scenes look nice. They will look so different in the summer. I am going to try and take some photos on our trip so I can write about it when I get back (if I get some good ones). Keep posting those photos,I hope to be able to catch up on reading when I can when we are on the road!

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  12. Anonymous - Let her know that she should leave comments, like you do. Your comments are always welcome.
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    Retired one - Your photos of your trip should look really good. It'll almost be like changing seasons in only a few days time. I hope your trip is going well.

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