Findley Lake 11/8/09

As we get closer to winter things get quieter and quieter on Findley Lake. No herons, no geese, no owls, no osprey, maybe 2 or 3 ducks and one wandering bat. Very few leaves on the trees and lots of leaves on the lake. We pulled the boats out of the water as darkness fell and I think we were the last people in the park. The temperature was comfortable, the water was smooth, the paddling was very very good.

Findley Lake 10/25/09

All photos by Nicki. Cool perfect autumn day. Not much wildlife. Didn't see a single great blue heron. Must be getting close to the end of the season?

Findley Lake 10/5/09

Monday late afternoon/early evening - great blue posing and exposing and basking, turtles getting the last warmth from the setting sun, and an osprey leading us around the lake. Hopefully this won't be the last kayak of the season but if it is then it was a good one.

Findley Lake 10/1/09

Middle of the week, beginning of October, well past the tourist season - things get quiet on Findley Lake. You almost start to give names to the few great blue herons that remain. Didn't stay till darkness this time.

Findley Lake 9/25/09

A nice Friday evening on the lake. Several blue herons and lots of crows, ducks and geese. We could hear an owl but no sightings. Only a few fishing people on the lake. A nice sunset and tolerably cool temperatures. In a little earlier than usual (5:00) and out just before the real darkness happened (which is getting much too early).

Findley Lake 9/13&15/09

Nicki had a session with a raccoon who may have been washing blueberries in the water (or were they blue berries?). Found a blue heron that seemed to be standing abnormally far from the shore where they usually hunt for fish. But he was standing on the edge of a submerged tree stump that formed a natural trap for fish - the fish would enter an open side of the stump and the outer edges of the stump would contain them in a pool that was about 3 feet wide - much like a net. Hard to get a picture of the stump - flash may have helped a bit.

Findley Lake 9/6/09

Seems we end up going out later and later each day - the days are busy. And sunset comes earlier and earlier. Tonight the final 15-20 minutes of our paddle was pretty dark - not totally but enough that we did the tie-ups by feel and car lights. On the paddle back to the dock our boats were circled by bats - hard to see them but could catch their reflections in the water. At this rate we'll need to run lights on our boats and start using the flash on our cameras.

Long Lake, Michigan 8/12-14/09

Finally kayaking a different location other than Findley Lake. This time we loaded the kayaks on the trailer and headed for a several day vacation on Long Lake in Michigan near Traverse City. The days were sunny and warm (bordering on hot) - the nights were cool - and the water was slightly wavy depending on other boat traffic. All in all a good time and worth the long drive. Other trip events are covered on my other blog.

Findley Lake 8/6/09

Calm quiet night. Very willing to pose Great Blue Heron. One batch of ducks.

Findley Lake 7/27/09

Another late start and a boating that lasted until dark. A fair number of people fishing and boating - not crowded or noisy - just a few places we wanted to explore that were already occupied with fishing lines. Good owl sighting in our usual spot - it must be a young owl - did a lot of screeching and seemed curious about my kayak. Most of the wildlife seemed willing to have their photos taken. Only saw one great blue heron. A good evening.

Findley Lake 7/19/09

Again a late start which meant we were taking the boats out of the water in the dark - almost 9:30. The weather and temperature were so nice for mid-summer that it was hard to want to get out. Nice that it is easy and quick to throw the boats on the trailer and tighten the straps - easy even in the dark. Not a great evening for wildlife. Most of our usual heron must be elsewhere. No owls - though we did hear their screech in the distance. A raccoon peeking from out of tree roots. One big kingfisher that kept teasing us - but was hard to get a sharp photo. We aren't going to complain given the comfortable conditions.

Findley Lake 7/13/09

A study of one particular great blue heron that happened into the final light of the early evening and who was very patient with a persistent photographer trying hard to not interrupt the heron's fishing - ultimately without success. Sometimes they pose - sometimes they leave quickly with a barrage of complaining squawks. These were the only photos of the evening as the lake was unusually quiet in the wildlife department.

Findley Lake 7/6/09

A late start getting the boats in the water. A quiet night with no extraordinary events. Several great blue herons posing and a green heron or two in the distance but not much else. But sometimes quiet nights are perfectly fine as long as the temperature, the company, and the sunset are right.

Findley Lake 6/21/09

Perfect night to be on the water and perfect way to complete Fathers Day. Again chasing the Blue Herons and turtles with a mixing of Green Herons and a few unidentified birds. And the rudders performed fine so my fixes worked. The state must have stocked the lake as the herons were eating aplenty and the little fish were hopping in the water near the shore. No owls tonight. A great sunset.

Findley Lake 6/16/09

Nice evening on Findley Lake. Lots and lots of Great Blue Herons. One owl being chased by a crow. One Green Heron that I swear had only one leg but Nicki has photos that show he had two. And one Great Blue that preened and preened and didn't mind our camera clicks at all - and we take a lot of photos when we get going and have the neck aches to prove it.

The only odd event was when both of our rudders fell apart in the first few moments on the water - almost like sabotage (are there opposing camps in kayaking willing to do secret battle? Should we be wary when approached by rudderless kayakers?). We spent most of evening without that little bit of extra control that we have learned to prefer. I'll do a repair job tomorrow.

Findley Lake 6/7/09 (with owls)

The season has finally begun. Kayaks hit old faithful Findley Lake today. Transported to and fro on our new trailer (much less shoulder strain). Were met at the dock by a Park Ranger who did a full safety inspection which we passed - no problem. We had the right equipment and the right papers. Our goal was to just get our technique back but we sparred with several blue herons and then we entered a cove where we had encountered an owl previously and this time we found three bard owls - we think it might have been a parent with one almost mature owl (or the other parent) and one very new owl (still a lot of baby fluff). All in all a very successful start to the season (despite the slightly awkward dunking I took as I was getting out of my boat - a question of confidence at the least best moment). The water was warm and I always have a change of clothes.

Let the season begin...

I have been cleared for kayaking - the shoulder is good enough - therapy is over. As long as we use the new trailer and paddle in moderation. And since retirement is finally here, why not?

Trailer

One more step toward getting back on the water. Last Saturday I had a hitch installed on the CRV. Today we picked up a trailer from Car Gear in Akron. They put it all together so all I had to do was attach it to the hitch (and pay for it of course). Meanwhile therapy goes well on the shoulder so I'm hoping that real soon we'll be able to load the kayaks onto the trailer and begin the 2009 season in earnest.