This is a posting written from August 28, 2011.
During the peak of the summer season, Nicolet Bay would be teaming with overnight boaters at this time of evening. The sand beach would still have the noisy and happy sounds of Peninsula State Park campers, and shrieks and hoops would be heard from shoreside campsites.
Not so, tonight. It is decidedly quiet in Nicolet Bay. Few sounds are coming from the campground, the beach is deserted with all of the assorted water toys neatly lined up on shore - waiting, perhaps, to be rented out tomorrow, the night fishermen are leaving from the boat ramp and a few, scattered campfires can be been with smoke wafting upward through the trees.
There are six of us tonight. Three lone boats on anchor and three boats rafted together.
Mother Nature is beginning her seasonal wardrobe change. You can see, hear, and feel the seasonal march from summer to fall. Small, yet significant telltale signs are everywhere. High atop the green, rolling hills of Door County, Wisconsin, one can catch a glimpse of rust-colored treetops. The sun sets earlier each evening. Two months ago, at this time of day, the sun would still be streaming onto the landscape, instead of sliding quickly beneath the horizon. The geese surely know what the future holds, because they are slowly gathering into larger and larger gaggles - both on land and in the water - with more and more airborne V-formations taking shape, as if in dress rehearsal for their upcoming migration.
Tonight the water surface is tranquil and the temperature has dropped exponentially as the sun has slipped below the line of sight. It feels really good.....this sunset in Nicolet Bay.
Ancora imparo
