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.

2008 Season

A quick photographic look back at the 2008 season. We're assuming the boats will not come out again this year due to the very cold weather and the rapid icing of the lakes.

Gun Lake (and others), Michigan 10/11/08

Nicki and I were part of a guided canoe/kayak tour in several loosely connected lakes including Gun Lake in Michigan. We started with a champagne brunch on the launch ramp, entered the water on one smallish lake (where we met the swans and geese), went through a culvert to another (where we met the turtle), carried our boats across a road to a narrow waterway through the tall cattails and weeds, which eventually flowed into Gun Lake. Afterwards we had a late lunch at Sam’s Joint. The weather was perfect, the company good, and the guide got us through the maze of cattails. Nobody got wet and nobody complained. A very good day.

LaDue Reservoir 7/17/08

Highlights from this trip: big mouth bass in packs skimming the surface eating bugs?, two military planes doing a fly-by, skitterish great blue herons, and a great sunset. A hot day but a nice evening to be on the water. LaDue is east of Cleveland and is a long drive but very much worth the trip.

Findley Lake 7/8/08

An early morning excursion. We were on the lake by 8:00 AM. Very unusual for us. Even before the boats were launched we saw a deer on the shore. And plenty of great blue herons, ducks, geese and giant shallow-water mud-wallowing carp. A couple hours that made for a great start to the day. Finished with coffee and pecan rolls at the Bread-N-Brew in Wellington on the way home.

Findley Lake 7/6/08

Testing out a new camera and lens - Nikon D300 with the 18-200 vibration reduction lens. Shots were taken late afternoon into early evening from the kayak in shade and sun.

A New Season Begins - Summer 2008

Photos from several visits to Findley Lake - Blue Herons, Green Heron, Night Heron, Turtle, and a Birdhouse.

Quaker Lake 6/24/07

A Sunday afternoon at Quaker Lake
in New York State's Allegany State Park.
Nice that you can launch from near the spillway
without entering the park and paying the entrance fee.
Several kayaks on the lake.
But we had just about decided
that there wasn't much wildlife on the lake
and were heading back to the launch
when we came upon a pair of osprey
perched on a tall old dead tree.
They were reasonably cooperative
and allowed a bunch of photos
before moving on down the shore to a new perch.
On the drive back to Little Valley
we noticed an osprey nest on the edge of the park.
For better versions of the photos
go to my Picasa site
and use the slideshow button.

Rocky River

Late afternoon - early evening near Cleveland
on the Rocky River where it empties into Lake Erie.
And then dinner at Macaroni Grill.
A nice way to celebrate the day.

Findley Lake on a Friday Night

You can tell when summer is really really here
when we start kayaking on days other than
Saturdays or Sundays.
Here is Findley Lake on a Friday evening.
Human numbers were low.
A few boats but not a crowd of fisherpeople.
And barely any picnicers.
Lots of great blue herons.
We counted as many as 8 in the air at once.
A few green herons
And a Baltimore Oriole bathing on the edge of the lake.