If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, there's still a chance that it's not.

Every season requires a little adjustment. So sometimes I take a reconnaissance run around the region to get caught up on where the sun is when, and what is getting the light and where. This year seemed to be way out of whack for me. All of a sudden it is October. August and September were blurrs in the rear view mirror.

So I visited some of my favorite spots to get caught up a bit. One of which is the boat landing on Knickerbocker Lake. I've been trying to catch the color change on the lake for years and never seem to land at the right moment. So I wasn't surprised that I landed at the wrong time, once again.

But something unexpected did show up. After parking, I waddled down the lane toward the float to the sound of some pretty loud but enjoyable music coming from a car parked nearby. I noticed a couple working on something on the ground but did not stop, just said hello and continued toward the water. Very little color in sight so I made my way back toward the car.

What a surprise to find a big yellow duck blown up and being carted off for a float. This is October, mind you. It must have been in the mid-70s. Unbelievably mild and not a soul around.

I asked the couple launching the duck if they would mind if I made a few photos and they responded gleefully, “No problem, as long as you make us look good.”

One orange tree on the opposite bank of the lake and an inflatable duck. You just never know.