We are looking down a small slope to a wooden footbridge crossing an inlet of a large lake. Most of the lake surface is frozen, a light coating of snow cloaks the ground and most of the ice. There are forests of tall pines on either end of the bridge. The rest of the forest surrounding the lake is mostly leafless hardwoods. There are many thin clouds in the sky. The rising sun is tinting them orange, pink and violet, reflecting on the ice which has no snow cover.