This morning I headed out there before sunrise, to catch the early morning light, and I was not disappointed. As the sun rose, I realized that I had never really noticed before, that the clouds seem to cast shadows on the sky above. 
The water was as still as stagnant summer air, save only for the occasional splash and ripple of a fish as it fed on insects that landed on the water's glassy surface. A solitary heron and its mirrored reflection stood frozen in the shallow water in anticipation of a morning meal. In the cottonwoods and willows that lined the banks, magpies, grackles and warblers greeted the sun with an avian chorus, while red-winged blackbirds called from the cattails below, and dragonflies darted in and out among the reeds. An osprey circled the pond, landing in the top of a small cottonwood at the far end, and a family of nine Canada geese grazed at the edge of the pond and then suddenly took to the air, noisily announcing their flight. As I walked along the bank, a cluster of turtles that had been sunning themselves on a log ker-plopped into the water, scurrying along the shallow bottom and burying themselves in the mud.
I stopped at Council Grove on the way home, and was surprised to see Nodding Onions still blooming. They're not very tolerant of hot weather and I would have thought this past week's heat wave would have done them in. But there they were, in the shade of the cottonwoods alongside the river. Not a lot of activity here, as it was already the middle of the day and about 90 degrees already. Only stayed an hour before heading home to dive into the pool!
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