Reaching Otter Brook bridge the road was blocked with a closed gate. Parked the truck in one of the campsites then Mary and I arranged our packs for the three mile hike to the abandoned beaver pond. Along with the camera gear already in my pack I added my old laptop and rain gear. Mary packed lunch, her rain gear, a book and insect repellent.
It was 8:30 A.M. when we made our way around the closed gate, crossed Otter Brook bridge and entered the solitude that lay ahead. The dirt road made the walking easier than a trail, but I knew we had some elevation to gain and the high humidity wasn't going to make it pleasant. In addition to my large camera pack I had my LowePro Toploader 75AW chestpack loaded with my Canon 20D / 100-400 mm lens in the event we happened on any cooperative wildlife. As it turned out the hike to the pond was uneventful and not as difficult as I had anticipated.
Arrived at the pond at 9:40 A.M. Unpacked my equipment, set up my tripod over the flagged shooting location and mounted my camera. Next I got out my old Averatec laptop and studied the 2008 panorama to be sure of the starting point for the first frame. I had gotten that slightly off when shooting the 2009 panorama. That done I waited for some cloud cover to block the sun and tone down the high contrast the direct sunlight was providing. The number of billowy clouds were increasing and finally covered the sun. Shot the first series of eight images that would be stitched together in Photoshop to produce the panorama. I immediately shot a backup series of images in case my frame spacing was off.
I wasn't very pleased with the light so I kept waiting for better light as new clouds took their turn blocking the sun. By 11:49 A.M. I had shot a total of ten series of images. It was quite hot and humid, Mary and I found some shade where we could eat lunch. Fired up the laptop and downloaded the images so I could review the results so far.
After lunch and reviewing the images I decided to try another series of images if the light got better. Thicker clouds were off to the west and headed our way. One of them did a good job of providing much better light. At 12:27 P.M. I began shooting two more series of images. The last set was the one I picked to assemble as this years panorama.
In spite of the heat and humidity the return hike along Indian Lake Road was quite pleasant, very quite, no vehicles and no people. Unfortunately no wildlife either, but that changed in an instant. As we walked along the side of the ridge above Falls Pond Outlet's bog, suddenly a large black bear appeared on the road about one hundred and fifty feet ahead of us. Without stopping it turned and ran down the road ahead of us with an easy, slow, fluid gait, then up a short but steep slope and was swallowed by the forest. Not a sound could I hear, it always amazes me how something so large and bulky can move so silently..
Arrived back at the truck at 2:10 P.M."
The black bear photo I forgot to take!
Beaver pond on August 1, 2010
A single frame showing the beaver lodge in disrepair
Journal entry for October 31, 2010 "At 12:10 we gave up on a moose sighting and headed back to the abandoned beaver pond, arriving at the pond at 1:00 P.M. A light dusting of snow on the bare trees would make a nice contrast with the summer panoramas.
Got out my tripod, positioned it and leveled it over the flagged location. Set up my camera, mounted it on the tripod then began shooting the eight required frames, finishing at 1:41 P.M.
While I was repacking my gear a hunter, who was from Vermont, stopped to visit a few minutes. We had a pleasant conversation."
Beaver pond on October 31, 2010
A single frame showing the beaver lodge in disrepair
Click on any image for a larger version
You can view more beaver pond photos on my website:
More beaver pond journal entries are coming up soon
Thanks for visiting my journal,
Bunch
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