Code orange...

It was an absolutely gorgeous Saturday morning, and I was heading toward Belmar Lake. Unfortunately, I was late for the sunrise (which was simply stunning), and by the time I arrived, the sky wasn’t even close to what I had seen on my way there. But, surprisingly, as I walked around the lake, I discovered that some orange colors still lingered in the sky and made it glow…

 

I walked slowly along the trail, looking at the opposite shore and watching dozens of geese gliding across the surface.

But geese are a pretty boring subject, so I kept searching for something more interesting, and soon found plenty of gulls. They’re not rare birds, of course, but this morning they gave me a chance to watch them bask in the early sun, preen their feathers, and squabble with one another (not these three obviously :) ).

The water was quite still and created almost perfect reflection... It was so peaceful and beautiful...

Ducks were there too. Not as many as the geese, but still planty. Even though they are quite ordinary, I still like watching them and learning about their habits.

Finally, I spotted the bird I had come to see - a male Hooded Merganser. A small but beautiful bird… though not very people-friendly, I’m afraid. It stayed in the distance and never came closer. What a pity.

I circled the lake a couple of times, and by then the morning sky had brightened, along with the reflections. That’s one of the reasons I love coming to the lake early. Even if I don’t find many birds, I can always enjoy the ever-changing morning light.

Gulls were flying, ducks were swimming… I guess it was just another day for the birds. Nothing out of the ordinary, right?

At one point, a flock of gulls were quarreling and fighting over something one of them had and didn’t want to share. It was quite amusing to watch them.

Around 8:30 AM, I felt like it was a good time to change the scenery, so I drove to the Botanic Garden. Even with only a few flowers still blooming, I hoped to find something interesting there.

And I was rewarded with orange leaves glowing in the morning sun and creating a perfect fall mood.

Well... I spent another hour wandering around and pointing my camera at almost every three I walked past. And... everything looked so orange... even though there were far fewer leaves than the week before. I think next weekend even fewer will remain… Mid-November is when fall starts giving up and letting winter in.

Before leaving, we stepped inside to walk through the orangery and see what might still be blooming. Even though the climate in there was perfect for tropical flowers, only a few blossoms remained - but the ones that did were so delicate…

... so delicate and so bright!

Photos taken on November 15, 2025.