Weekend Waterview: Year in Review and Reflections

Happy Sunday!

I hope you had a Merry Christmas and are enjoying a happy holiday week!

I’m looking back and sharing some waterviews from Lake Norman and reflections of 2024.

We witnessed some beautiful sunrises and sunsets . . .

Reflections of water meeting sunkissed clouds  . . .

And glorious views of lavender water with tangerine skies. . .

“How wonderful it is to live under a sky which is repainted everyday by the greatest artist.”

– Unknown

And some sunsets with God rays visible, also known as crepuscular rays.

We enjoyed some chair time and bird watching this year  . . .

We all enjoy watching our resident blue heron . . .

The ever patient fisherman, able to balance on one foot for hours . . .

Even while preening!

Ring-billed Gulls arrived in January, hanging around until late February. . .

Making a racket and disturbing the peace. . . we weren’t sorry to see them leave. ;)

Osprey return to the same nest around the beginning of March here on the lake

after wintering in Central and South America.

We always enjoy checking on their nests by boat, hoping for a chick sighting . . .

Osprey nest on manmade structures . . . channel markers, duck blinds, power poles, and nest platforms.

We enjoy boating over to Heron Island in May and June,

to see if we can spy herons nesting in the treetops.

Great Blue Herons hunt and fish alone, but gather in colonies or “heronries”

and build stick nests high in the tops of trees.

Lola and Sophie enjoyed some early morning rides in the spring and early summer

before the heat and humidity reached the sweltering range. . .

Sophie really enjoys her morning naps on the pontoon. . .

And Lola enjoys riding in the Captain’s chair.

The Dog Days of Summer kept us indoors in comfort of the AC

while dreaming of fall and lower humidity.

With September came Hurricane Helene, with rising waters and lots of floating debris, but fortunately no flooding, unlike some of the smaller lakes and our western North Carolina neighbors who weren’t so lucky.

Note: Three months after Helene, many are still in need of assistance rebuilding or making their homes habitable. Samaritan’s Purse is replacing manufactured homes, rebuilding and repairing stick-built homes, and providing additional assistance in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee with volunteers also working in Valdosta, Georgia, and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida. If you are able to aid or give support in the disaster relief, you can find out more from Samaritan’s Purse, HERE.

As long time readers know, fall is my favorite season, which lasted about 20 minutes this year! Our fall foliage was more muted than normal after our dry summer and fall season.

We had snow showers on December 3rd, the first snowflake we’ve seen since January of 2022! ❄️

It was a fun surprise, melting away by noon.

I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions,

but do believe that every day is a chance for a fresh start.

“Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn.”

 – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wishing you a Happy & Healthy New Year!

Thank you for your visit!