Canoeists, heron and a few orange leaves

There is a point on the return trip of Creekside Trail at Yates Mill Pond Park in Raleigh where a walker or runner can look left and see the pond and main pedestrian boardwalk over the water before actually reaching the boardwalk. 

That's where I was when I took most of the canoeist photos in this post. 

I'd never seen canoeists this close to that shore portion of the trail before, so when I did see several canoes in the water on Tuesday, I stopped my walk and grabbed some pictures. 

Not long afterward, as I bypassed this boardwalk and continued straight to begin the Millpond Trail, which begins on the other side of the boardwalk, I came upon a heron that was perched in shallow water close to the shore, also to my left. 

Up until this point, I had covered 2+ miles on the Creekside Trail without stopping to do any photography, but I was willing to stop for these sights ... and took in some autumn color as I proceeded further on the Millpond Trail.

As usual, all of these shots were taken at near maximum zoom using my iPhone 13 Pro, so the sharpness is not ideal. But ... I present these anyway.