I have PVNS: Spring in Maine

Ahhh... another amazing day in Maine! Temps were once again in the 80s.

Last night I had posted on facebook that I would be kayaking again today if anyone was interested. Sheila, one of my coworkers, wanted to go, so we were going to meet close to my house, thinking if other coworkers wanted to go it was close to everyone...

But, this morning Sheila texted. She got a shift on the tolls and took it. I would have done the same. So that left me paddling solo. Since I had recently done the river close to my house I decided to go elsewhere... and ended up at a state park. It was a GREAT choice!

I have only paddled here once before... last fall with a bunch of people... I figured it would be crowded, but was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't. I only saw two boats on the water while I was out and a couple of others putting in when I was leaving.

The river is interesting. There are so many downed trees and because it is a state park they leave them where they fall... there are a lot. A few times today while paddling I got into some really cool places that were really shallow, REALLY shallow. (I would bet that if I returned in a few weeks many of the places will be impassable because the plants will have grown so much that they will block off some of the offshoots.)

The first thing I noticed when I got out of my truck was the birds singing. It was beautiful!

Here's one of the trees...

Of course I was on the prowl for turtles! This one was in the water and keeping his eye on me!

This was a busy log!

The color contrast between the blue sky, green evergreens, and grays from last fall/winter got my attention...

One of the places I got into went back into the woods quite far. I managed to get in despite mere inches of water. I got in here and saw this really vibrant emerald green algae in the water. It was really pretty.

More turtles...

This guy was not afraid of me. He looked at me as if to say, Hey Lady, make sure you get my good side...

Then struck a pose!

I had seen several Canada geese and they were quite loud with all their honking. I was paddling around a corner, heard loud honking and saw these geese coming right at me. I grabbed my camera in time for this shot, but with it would have been more clear!

As I was paddling off to the right was this really narrow path that didn't look like it went anywhere... and I almost passed by it, but decided to go in. As I went in and it began to widen I caught sight of this guy... blue heron. I was very excited. Last fall I got a great video of a blue heron, a young one, catching a fish... this guy was a lot bigger, A LOT bigger... and tried to get away from me... but I was determined...

To follow him I literally had to go in water that was maybe three inches deep in a couple of spots... My kayak dragged iin one spot and I just did the kayak shimmy shake and got over it... and kept following him... wow was he big.

And then I got this shot.. the wind came up a bit and blew his feathers... WOW.. I was soo excited. It is the best picture I took all day! Such a beautiful bird... After that he flew off and I couldn't follow him any longer... I am thankful for this!

These geese kept getting in front of me... I think they wanted their picture taken!

Mallard ducks... pretty common... but... loved that the green really stands out and look at the curly tail-feather!

The Maine state flower: Pinecone!

One of the trees that was laying in the water was mostly gray but I noticed this rust color and the grain of the wood. I love the grain of the wood... it reminds me of my grandfather. I remember as a kid walking through the path behind our houses to visit my grandparents. Grampie would be in the basement working on something, usually with wood. He loved staining things to see the grain of the wood come out.

This is where I turned around... and headed back... cute little bridge.

It's important to drink water and have snacks as you paddle... so... I packed some rhubarb! Yummm... The best rhubarb ever was at my grandmother's house, Dad's mom... YUM. I bought this at Whole Foods... it was good, but not like Grammie's... Mom Loved rhubarb too!

One of the reasons I chose this spot was that I wanted to be a bit protected from the wind. The forecast had said hot and windy... and yesterday's paddle on an open lake was a bit choppy.. and since I was going solo, decided staying in an area that had less wind would be great. But above the trees, the birds were soaring on the wind, dancing in the air!

Such a pretty day!

Before returning to the boat launch, I went to what is known as "The Sandbar." The river opens up into Maine's largest lake, Sebago Lake. It looks a bit like a desert with the sand, and the ocean with the openness... very cool spot.

I got out of the kayak for a minute to stretch my legs... Here's my ride... I think of Mom so much while I am in her kayak, now my kayak... It means so much to me that dad let me take her kayak...

This week has been better than I anticipated, a far as thinking about Mom. One thing I have not done... at least yet... is go back to my blog entries from three years ago... which I did the last two years... which brought everything back, so vividly... More on that at some point I am sure... Tomorrow marks three years...

But... in the midst of that... it is spring in Maine... and I have been trying for the last few years to get some good tulip pictures. Tulips are my favorite flower... along with lilacs (which make me sneeze!). Every year I seem to miss the ideal timing to catch the tulips in their glory... today I got lucky... mostly...

Okay I know these aren't tulips, but they were blossoming on the street near the tulips...