As a birding outing, the visit to

Creve Coeur Lake

was a washout, or rather, a rainout…but the place is so beautiful, that while D cycled and A ran, with GD in a jogging stroller, I ambled around and enjoyed myself very much indeed!

Here’s the sign which explains the origin of the name of the lake:

Here’s the dripping springs:

(and they weren’t dripping only because of the rain…!)

On the lake, several rowing teams were receiving their coaching: At first, the weather seemed quite pleasant, with fleecy white clouds adding puff-cotton balls to the scenery on the lake: It was quite amazing to see the way the rain clouds just rose up over the blue-and-white, with a mantle of grey: Here's a video of it happening! How often can one *see* rain coming up like that! In spite of the intermittent sprinkling, there were joggers and cyclists on the path, which wound under the huge bridge that carried the highway and its traffic: There is a sort of creek that flows into the lake I saw this man paddling a surfboard-like boat flat on the water: I later saw him taking it out of the water and loading it on to his car, too: I wonder what that kind of boat is called...a raft? a punt? The wet weather had brought out mushrooms of all types...here are some frilly ones: Some saddle mushrooms: And a convocation of them: The wildflowers the fat red berries And the colours of the leaves spoke of the new season that's upon us: The rain shed diamonds on this web: Another spider was constructing its website: I tried to get a closeup, but it was tough, with the web and spider swinging wide in the stiff breeze:

I finally left the lake to its own beauty, and brought away this image of a heron-scape: