Ahhhh... Summer...

Summer's kickoff would not be complete for me without a trip north... 

So, last week, after finishing some things at school, I declared myself officially on summer vacation, and headed north.  First stop was to visit Aunt Donna.  Her field was filled with lupine and I took a few shots after our wonderful visit.  This shot is my favorite.  

I feel lucky to have time with Aunt Donna.  She is such a neat lady.  She shows great interest in what I do at work and seems to enjoy hearing a few stories.  She of course follows the blog and reads about some of my adventures.  She is a person who is such a cool mixture of characteristics... she is so elegant, down to earth, funny, smart, witty, and articulate.  I am so proud of her... 

After visiting her I stopped at my grandparents' house... it is being sold, the closing is this week... and I wanted a chance to stop in and reflect... so many fond memories there... Such a loving home from which my dad and his siblings came... My grandparents raised their children well... so much to be proud of!  

A big part of their house is the flowers... Grammie loved flowers and was a pretty amazing gardener... I did not get her green thumb... 

I do not know the name of this flower, but this bee seemed to be enjoying it! 

Loved the way the light accented that one part of the flower... 

This picture.... is reflective of my grandfather's humor... this is the slab where the little well house used to sit... It has been gone for a long time.  I am not sure if Grampie actually put this can there, which would mean it has been there for years... since he passed many years ago... but... people often say, "Well, well, well..."  and it would be just like Grampie to put that on his well... Whether it was him, Dad, or Uncle Wayne... I am not sure... It could also be one of the girls, but... I suspect it is either Dad or Wayne... 

This is the window from which Gramie, and Grampie before he passed,  would wave good bye to us... it was tradition that they would wave until we reached the end of the driveway and could no longer see the window... whenever possible they did their waves from outside, below this window... but later in life, it was a bit safer to stay inside and avoid risking a fall.  It is something I always cherished...  

From there I headed north, way north... into the woods... and once I hit a certain spot, I turned off my cell phone... knowing the reception would be non existent... and as soon as I hit the power button, some stress left my body.  Then, when I saw this... I relaxed a bit more... 

On the way to the campground there are a few ponds on either side of the road... and often moose will make an appearance... this one, was far away, as you will see in the next picture, but I zoomed in to get a better shot.  Lucky I did too, this was as close to a moose as I got this visit... which is a first!  

This is how far away I was from the moose... I was happy to see it !

My first night at the campground it was pretty windy... and I didn't kayak!  Nope, did not kayak.  It was hard... I was craving it... but it was really windy.  Later in the evening the wind began to die down and the fish were rising and Dad tried to catch the big one... tried being the key word...

Meanwhile... Betty introduced "Pinky" to the camping crew... In an effort to red neck-ify the camper, she has put a couple of those lawn flamingo things behind the camper... and one of the members of the camping crew thought it would be funny to have an addition to the family.  (Originally the flamingos were named Thelma and Louise... now... that they had a baby, they are Thelma and Luis!)  

The moon rose over the campground... a couple of nights away from the full moon.. it was beautiful.  

The next morning I got up early and hit the water.  It was so peaceful... the reflections were crystal clear...

As I paddled into one of the inlets, the one Mom and I called Baxter Bay, I was paddling around and thought.. wow.. that stick could pass for a bird... 

Then I had to change my tune... wow that bird could pass for a piece of wood!  Dad said this is an American bittern... and since everything you read on the internet is 100% true, I looked it up... and he is right!  There were two actually, I did not see the other one until they both flew away.  They have bright yellow legs... love nature's camouflage!

This offshoot, Mom called, "The Outback" because it is out back, behind the next inlet she named... When the water levels are high enough, which they were this weekend, you can paddle from one to the other... once i did that and got too close to a moose!  Not this time! 

This is in "The Gooseneck".. because Mom thought it was shaped like a goose's neck... this is the one that connects to The Outback..

I continues up river and went around the backside of the island... and the ferns were plentiful !

As I was paddling, I zoomed in on the mountain... it was a bit hazy, but I still like it. 

After doing most of the river and making a pit stop to get some water I then kayaked down the stream... and  because the water levels were high, I was able to get into a section of the stream that is usually impassable, without portaging, which I have never done... and got a slightly different view of the mountain.  

On my way back the wild roses were beginning to bloom...

Later in the day I asked Dad and Betty if they were interested in going for a walk, and I was pleasantly surprised that they were!  We walked up into the woods... on old fire roads that were cut when the mountain was on fire.. in... 1978 or something like that... 

We hiked up to a stream and it was so pretty... the sound of rushing water was soothing... 

Love the happiness in this picture! 

We walked back to camp... 

Now... THAT is a rock... gotta love glaciers! 

After the hike it was back to the kayak!  The sky was so blue!  and the reflections were pristine!

And I once again wore my kayak hat... got lots of compliments from the camping crew on my hat... it helps a lot.  I hate wearing sunglasses when kayaking because as I take pictures, my shades change the exposure of the picutres... I like to block the sun while having my regular vision... 

An osprey flew overhead and landed in a tree... (No eagles this time either!) 

I got a lucky shot as it took off! 

Then it was campfire time... I had to say goodnight to my kayak... 

The almost full moon rose again... 

The next morning... I was treated to a very special experience... 

That picture... above... was taken as an OTTER darted under the water.  Yes, Otters! 

Mom used to kayak and would tell me that she had seen otters... she never saw them when she was kayaking with anyone... but she said they existed... sure mom... sure... and this trip... I got to see them, and interact with them... twice!  

They are hard to photograph because they are fast.  They make interesting noises and were very curious about me.  

 Look at those whiskers! 

As they were swimming they would stop and push themselves up out of the water a bit to peek at me..  It was so cute!  (I did not get any stellar quality pics of them, because they are fast and the lighting on the times I saw them were off...) 

There were THREE otters... 

I was excited and left the otters alone... and paddled up the river.  On my way back down, I decided to hug the shore, which meant going under the trees... fun! 

I returned to see if I could find the otters and instead, found frogs!  Big Frogs! 

After paddling, I returned to the camper and Betty and I played some games.. She took this pic of Dad...in front of his camper... I like it... He needs a haircut... just sayin'!  

 Dad's back has been bothering him... and he decided to take a little snooze in his outside recliner... 

Later that day... of course... more paddling time...

And... YAHOO!!!  The otters were back!  Look at that face! 

Look at that one in the back, hugging the log!  So cute!  Not great quality pic, but cute! 

Thanks Otters!  You made this trip pretty special!   

That evening, we were all sitting around the fire and someone noticed this turtle near shore... probably coming in to lay her eggs... but we didn't see that happen...

The next morning I went on a quest for otters... and they were nowhere to be seen... but the frogs were around... 

As I was paddling back to the campground.. knowing this was my final pattern for this visit... Something on the grass caught my eye, something iridescent ... the wings of a newly hatched dragonfly!  This was cool!!!  

There were many of them along the grass in this part of the river... 

If you look closely... below the dragonfly there is the exoskeleton of what it was before... I do not know the scientific term... but it was the pre-dragonfly stage... they hatch out of them... I got to see it... so cool! 

This guy was holding on for dear life as its wings dried enough to take off... 

This one had fallen into the water... and because they eat bugs, I thought he was worth rescuing.  He seemed appreciative! 

This is one hatching... out of it's exoskeleton... and you can't even see the wings.. but they come out... within moments... 

There are the wings! 

So.. after returning to the campground and having lunch it was time to head a bit south... and head to Dad and Betty's ... I stopped at one of the ponds and on the far shore there were two moose... see you next time!  

Getting to Dad and Betty's... I decided to paddle again... and as the sun was setting I got a little bit of time on the lake... saw this loon from afar...

 After being out on the water for a bit a boat went by and on it, was a friend from high school.. small world... friend... is a little strong... she was an acquaintance... she was one of those people who was loud... and would do anything to get a laugh, even at the expense of others... she has gone through a lot since then... survived breast cancer... has a family, has lost her father and one of her sisters... and yet I feel like we have nothing in common anymore... not that we ever did... 

Then this morning Dad and Betty hit the road early for an appointment and I was left to my own devices... so.. what's a girl to do? Well.. I sat on the dock, eating breakfast... listening to the loons... and then kayaked...

It is beautiful!  

I was paddling and from afar saw a loon... since the night before  had no luck getting a good shot of a loon I wasn't going to try again, but then... behind the loon I saw something.. a little black dot and thought perhaps it was a baby... so I paddled closer and sure enough, there it was.. a little fluff ball!  

I worked hard to keep my distance, but they came close to my kayak, very close... and I backed away because I do not want the little one to be used to boat traffic... but I did take the opportunity to take some pictures.  

 Eventually I pulled myself away from the family.. to further explore the lake...

But.. on my way back to the house, once again the loons made themselves known and I had another chance to get some pics... I love this one... the little guy trying to be all grown up and air out his wings! 

Then... after kayaking I sat outside contemplating a swim... and this guy joined me... a butterfly.. not a moth... 

After that I decided to swim... a quick swim... I get a little weirded out by swimming in places where I am not familiar with the bottom... I fear slimy things... but after talking to myself and getting pushed from a friend.. I jumped in, literally... it was nice... then I sat on the dock again... enjoying the lake, the breeze, all of it... and feel lucky... in many ways... 

Summer is here!  Hope you all enjoy!