I walk around Como Lake at least once a week. Unlike some of the other Twin Cities lakes that attract hard-core runners and bikers, Como Lake is favored mostly by walkers and families. The mellower pace agrees with me—especially in the evenings, when the cool air and quiet spread like a blanket across the lake.

I’ve been visiting Como Lake year ’round for three or four years. I love that it’s always so familiar, yet always a bit different. It’s like a microcosm of Minnesota’s changing seasons, a little slice of the bigger ecological pie.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve come to appreciate the sense of place I feel at Como Lake, but also the sense of time. I’ve grown more familiar with the rhythm of the seasons here: The loons come through in the early spring, then the cormorants. The ducklings hatch. Then the leaves change and the snow flies, and the cycle begins anew.

This morning I arrived before dawn, accompanied by my friend Tucker (look for the lanky goldendoodle in the photos below). The geese were gathering in numbers while a lone bald eagle hunted along the lakeshore. I think we’re in for an early winter.

Here are a few of the photos I’ve shot at Como Lake over the years.