Findley Lake 12/3/11

This is the latest we've ever kayaked on Findley Lake. Part of the lake was covered with a breakable layer of ice - which of course we had to navigate through. Really crunchy on the sides of the boats.

Findley Lake 8/26/11

A hawk, lots of turtles, low buzzards, bugs, a kingfisher, and a great blue heron that insisted on posing from his perch on a tree stump - he would not give up his territory. We expected to find lots of traffic on the lake but with the county fair only a couple miles away and being almost the end of the summer it was a very quiet and comfortable excursion. We didn't stay for the sunset.

Findley Lake 8/12/11

Great blue herons everywhere. Turtles and little birds. A warm but friendly night on a calm lake. And an audience of "older" folks in lawnchairs to watch us try (successfully) to get out of the kayaks without accidentally falling into the water.

Findley Lake 8/5/11

Great blue herons to the left of us - herons to the right - herons posing on picnic tables - herons posing in trees - herons in flight. And a hummingbird and geese alone and in groups. And little birds. And lots of turtles - even a turtle circling the boat and spy-hopping to catch a gander of the photographer.

Findley Lake 7/25/11

Great blue herons and hot - very hot. A musk rat and a green heron. A day to keep your hat on.

San Juan Island

Kayaking on the West coast of San Juan Island with Sea-Quest Expeditions. No sightings of whales but a few harbor seals, lots of kelp, and a next of barn swallows. It was a good day on the water and good exercise. Certainly different than Findley Lake. Stayed in Anacortes, Washington, ferried to the port city of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, vanned to the west side of the island, and then 4 hours in the water.

Findley Lake 7/10/11

Not as many great blue herons - but enough for some worthwhile posing sessions. Also turtles, a snake, ducks, geese, and a couple raccoons that were too quick to catch. Warm evening with a cool breeze but a great sunset.

Findley Lake 7/5/11

Lots of great blue herons - flying to the left of us, flying to the right of us, flying in pairs and threes, posing and squaking - the most we've ever seen in one evening. And we had the lake to ourselves - we were the only boat on the water which is nice. No competition for the dock. It was hard to get out of the water as darkness fell.

Findley Lake 6/29/11

A snake, a few great blue herons, other smaller birds, and a squad of kayaks out for a tour of the lake. And a warm but comfortable evening.

Findley Lake 6/17/11

Nice evening. Great blue herons were posing, a small flock of green herons, and rain. We parked under the trees to wait the rain and thunder out. And of course the rain stopped as we took the boats out of the water.

Findley Lake 6/5/11

Lots of great blue herons, a green heron, turtles, geese, a raccoon, an otter, and a curious fawn. Not a bad evening.

Findley Lake 5/30/11

Nice evening on the lake. Lots of herons but they were very skittish and photo-shy. Very warm with almost no breeze. Stayed out until just after sunset.

Findley Lake 5/21/11

Trying out two new cameras: my Nikon D7000 and Nicki's Nikon D3100 both with zoom lenses that go out to 300mm. Lots of geese, several great blue herons, an egret, a cormorant, ducks and lots of scenery. The temps were comfortable, the winds were light, and it was a great evening.

Findley Lake 5/8/11

A very nice afternoon on the lake. Lots of geese, turtles, and one lone great blue heron in flight. Nicki got the heron photos.

Findley Lake 4/30/11

And so the kayaking season begins anew. And Findley Lake has awoken from the winter.