SPARK
MARCH 2021
10
NATURE’S WONDER AT ASYLUM LAKE PRESERVE By Dave Person david.r.person@gmail.com
The busy beavers and their trail of timber have caught the attention of many visitors to the Asylum Lake Preserve this past year, including amateur photographer Sharon Koole. “I have loved watching them this past year. I was on The Point when the first tree fell,” Koole wrote in an emailed report to Spark magazine detailing her regular morning walks through the preserve. “I think some people were a bit upset that they have been downing ‘favorite’ trees, but it’s always fun to go in the morning (when the lake was open) and see if another tree had fallen. “I have been lucky enough to see them several times and photograph them. I have to say that my favorite time seeing them was when there were two playing about in the water. They looked like they were having fun and we enjoyed watching them.” Koole visits the preserve nearly every weekday morning about the time the sun comes up, as has been her habit for the past couple of years. On weekends, she and her husband go farther afield to hike. But for Koole, an Oakwood resident, nothing matches the 274-acre Asylum Lake Preserve, located at Drake Road and Parkview Avenue, for sheer beauty. “I started walking my neighborhood and then looked to go somewhere a bit quieter
with nicer scenery,” she wrote. “I’d have to say that in the summer what we call The Point is my favorite place. I love standing there and watching the sun come up. In the spring there are so many birds along the shore and the heron and swans can usually be seen nearby. Now, of course, there is also the beaver lodge near there too.” The spring and summer beauty give way to fall and winter, both with their own attractions. “Sometimes the views can be lovely in the winter,” she wrote. “I do sometimes walk at other times of day but I enjoy the mornings the most as it is relatively quiet so it’s a great time to see wildlife,” she added. “I like going out close to sundown but it can be quite busy. “ Last spring, Koole kept running into Joanie McKinney Weaver, also a morning walker at Asylum Lake
