Frosty

After yesterday's excitement I couldn't resist another trip to Kemerton Lake today, in the hope of getting even better views of the otters. But it wasn't to be, because the whole of the lake surface around the public hide was frozen, keeping most of the wildlife at a distance. In fact I didn't see any otters at all, nor even any disturbance among the distant water birds to make me think that they were hunting on the far side of the lake, so perhaps they'd decided to stay tucked up in their holt for the day.

In case you were fearing that I felt otterly let down by this turn of events, let me reassure you that I actually had a splendid time - at least until the point at which my feet stopped being merely extremely cold, and became actively painful. The light was absolutely lovely, with mist and frost persisting in pockets to add extra interest, and I enjoyed turning my lens on the plants and landscape of the reserve. This common reed had been heavily rimed with frost, but it was catching the sun by the time I went looking for subjects, and the ice was melting fast. I shot it from both sides and both views work, but I've chosen this back-lit version because it somehow speaks to me of the longer and brighter days to come.

I've put some other images on my Facebook page, if you'd care to take a look.