Lake Poway

 Lake Poway is not a large lake (as you can see).  I haven't been here in years and I stopped by this week in the hopes of seeing some migratory birds.  I was shocked that there actually were very few waterfowl here.  i can only assume since it's not that big and A LOT of fishing and boating occur here, the birds must chose another lake?  Either way, it was a good hike.  Most hikes at lakes in San Diego are flat, some are a decent distance (lake murray for example is 7 miles) but it's usually all flat and most often paved the whole way.

Lake Poway is different:

This is the fire road/trail that goes through the mountains and usually stays on the rim of the lake.  You can look down at the lake:

 but there is a also a secondary trail like the one below.  This trail pretty much runs all along the shore and this is the route i took back.  Unfortunately like many lakes in San Diego, you cannot go all the way around.  the trail(s) dead end once you hit the dam and you have to go back.  That's OK, i went up the fire road on the way and went down to the shore on the way back.

i did notice something odd while i was walking along the shore, the willow trees (seen in the distance of the photo above) still have some of their fall foliage.  that's not the weird thing, the weird thing is below:

This Sycamore seems to have just sprouted it's SPRING foliage.  Odd indeed! Below is also an oddity.  Now i cannot name what this plant is, BUT i will say i see them bloom every SPRING and here they are pink , pink pink...

this was a sandy little shore that i felt compelled to take a rest.  All i could hear, the water, the birds and the wind.  Not a bad place to be.

Female Ring Necked Ducks

Gadwall(?)

And of course the Coots.  Coots sometimes remind me of cattle.  Very small cattle, yes, but i love how they graze like a herd of cattle.

While there were not an abundance of waterfowl, this was a very good hike.  Knowing this, i think i will be going back on a more regular basis.