KAYAKING 2013

Oh yeah!!  I am a happy girl!  I got to kayak today.  I went to one of my favorite spots and was not disappointed.  Yesterday I got my kayaks from my friend who had stored them for me, washed them, and loaded all my gear into the truck... I didn't know which day would be my first paddle, but the sun was shining today and I decided not to wait!   The only thing I forgot, and realized it as I was more than halfway to my destination, was socks... knowing that after stepping into the water my toes may need some warmth... so I stopped along the way and bought a pair!  

As I suspected, the water was COLD!!  I get into my kayak by wading out to my knees and sitting into my kayak kind of sideways as if I was sitting on a chair.. so I had to get my legs a bit wet.. brrr... but I had brought a towel and dried off pretty easily... (And ended up not wearing the socks!) 

I was hopeful that I may see loons... they are back in most of the lakes and this is an area where I have seen them on multiple occasions, but no such luck today... 

Things were pretty gray/brown... with very little green... but this moss on a log stood out as I paddled past... 

As I approaches part of the shore there was a bit of ice in a shady area.  There were only a few places where there were any signs of winter, but a good reminder it is still COLD in that there water.  

I like the reflection of the ice in the water... 

A tunnel! 

A little woodpecker made its presence known... 

I was wondering if I was going to see any turtles...and sure enough, I did!  I saw probably 10 or so along the trip... 

The ducks were there, swimming around...

Another turtle! 

This turtle was determined to not let my presence interfere with its sunbathing experience... (more of him later) 

This guy's color stood out, love the yellow shell! 

Still warming in the sun...

Pay no attention to the turtle on the moss, look at my buddy over there... just laying in the sun... 

Yeah, that's right... look to your left at the other guy on this log... 

What are you looking at? So what if I am soaking in the sun...

Tried to get a close up of the scales on its legs... 

Truly determined to not let me disturb him.. look how close my kayak was! Too tempting... I had to... 

I caught him!  

He was pretty tolerant of me, but at this point his little arms started flailing... like he was giving me the finger!  

Good first catch of the season! I returned him to the log and he paused, looked back at me, then went into the water.  I am sure I will see you again! 

The sky was so blue today!  

Of course, for Jill, I had to take this shot... and yes, I need to paint my toes! 

Ok... this critter... I am not sure if this is an otter or a muskrat.. but I think it is an otter.. For the first time EVER I saw two otters.  Mom used to see otters when she kayaked and I never saw them... never... today however as I paddled I heard some splashing and saw some movement in the water.  As I got closer I was pretty sure I was seeing otters.. I tried to get some video and will try to post it, but not sure I will get lucky enough to make it work here... but after getting the video I tried to follow them, wanting to make sure it was otters... and they were behind a log... and they were making all kinds of crazy noises.. After a while I started talking and two animals, otters, ran onto the shore and took off towards the water again... I am pretty sure those two otters were newlyweds on their honeymoon!  How crazy is that? anyway... later, much later, I came back through the area where I had seen the otters and this guy was swimming around... I tried to look online to see if this is an otter or a beaver, but I think it is an otter... I have never seen a beaver in this body of water, and there are no damns, which I think, if there were beavers, there would be... I am excited I got to see my first otters...made me think mom was with me today!  

Rock wall!  This won't be visible in a few weeks because the leafs will be out..  

QUACK! 

Another turtle... 

What a gorgeous day!  It was a little chillier than I would like, but it was fun.  

See, Dad? I wore a life jacket... 

As I was backing up, in my now snow free parking spot, I noticed Sheldon in the window!  

I am trying to upload the video of the otters... 

It was a great day on the water... however, while I have been uploading the pictures I turned on the television and am seeing the coverage of the Boston Marathon explosions... so sad... my thoughts are with those people and families of people who were injured...