Arches and Caves!

We all dream of paddling wild shores where the seas rage and roar and create all sorts of wonderful places for us to hone our skills and create our stories. One of the most impressive sights is to come across a sea cave or an arch, blasted out of the shear rock by eons of wave action. Alas, these treasures are few, especially in inland waters. In fact, until today, I'd never seen such a feature on my local lake. But that has all changed!

Look at the top photo! An arch! Massive looking and just the sort of thing to photograph and run home with to tell all your friends. So there it is. Look upon my works and weep, my fellow paddlers!


Okay, you're right. There is something a bit odd with the photo, isn't there? The lower photo tells the truth. It's a tiny opening, barely large enough for one's foot, let alone a kayak and paddler. On closer inspection, it isn't even an arch, but only appears like one due to the recent high water levels. The piece of rock on the right doesn't actually reach the bottom, but only dips into the water a few inches.

So no arches, no caves. I'll have to travel to find one of these. But that's alright. I love to travel!

Trapped!

I was thinking of going for a paddle this morning, but things got in the way. Bird things! These wild turkeys have been coming around the house for the past few days driving our dogs nuts. I don't mind feeding the birds, but these seems to much. Besides, how can I leave nutty dogs to go paddling? What would I come home to at day's end?

I wonder if these birds are any good to eat? I am feeding them after all, maybe they could return the favour...

December Paddling Surprises

Last year at this time, I was no longer paddling. Two years ago, I was on my 100 day paddling challenge to myself, but missed paddling for a few days on account of a snow storm. I was back on the water by December 4th, however, paddling day #90. It was -6°C and snowing still. Today I went for a nice paddle in windy, lumpy conditions. It was #57 of the year, so I'm way off my mark of '07, but ahead of where I was last year. In '08, I only managed to get out 51 times in total, I don't recall why I didn't continue paddling into December last year. It was great to out there today. Plus 6°C, sunny with a nice breeze, cresting waves driving down the lake. Perfect!

In fact, two odd things happened. First a large fish, perhaps a bass, nearly slammed into my bow as I was surfing down some waves. That's never happened before. I've seen fish jump out of the water now and then, but never so close as to nearly smack themselves into the hull. The other oddity was a large brown bird, most likely a young snow goose, flew right up to the kayak and only veered off when about a paddle length from me. I was sure it was out to get me!

All in all, an interesting day on the water! I decided to have a quiet lunch under some overhanging trees. It was much too wild to eat out on the lake itself.

Changeable Weather

Any time one goes out for a paddle, it's wise to go prepared for changing weather. This rule is especially true in the Fall and today proved no exception. Have a look above at conditions while I was getting ready to launch. 15°C, calm. T-shirt weather?


I hadn't been on the water fifteen minutes when everything changed. A stiff breeze came up and within minutes, breaking waves had built up making things quite lively.


Even trying to take pictures started to get tricky! I was glad to be warm and dry in my drysuit as I played in the waves.

Putting On The Gloves

I tried to take advantage of the rare sunshine yesterday, but as you can see from the photo my paddle was over-taken by a cold front moving in from the south. Rain began over night and continues on and off this morning. Not far to the north, I understand snow is falling. Winter is slowly coming our way.

The air and lake water are colder now, and I've begun wearing neoprene gloves to stay comfortable. I don't care for the loss of feel on my paddle that brings, but I care even less for freezing cold hands. In another month, I'll switch again this time into mitts and by December I'll have gloves on inside the mitts. It's all part of the routine for this ever changing time of year.

On the bright side, the lake is empty. Even the fishermen have given up and put their gear away for another year. They'll return when the ice thickens enough to allow them out with their snow-mobiles and ATVs. Meanwhile, I paddle in peace and quiet with the loons, the ducks and the geese. It's one of the best times of the year to be out paddling!

And Then There Were Five

Long time readers of this blog will recall my fascination for the Corvidae family: crows and ravens especially. These clever birds are said to be smarter than dogs which strikes me as odd, but there you are.

For years we have had a pair of crows which often sit in trees near the house and keep an eye on our behaviour. They are usually accompanied by a third crow which we believe to be an offspring. This year there are two addition birds in the group suggesting they've raised two young this year.

The whole family was out enjoying the beautiful October day we had yesterday, but I only managed to catch the two adults with the camera. Like the young everywhere, the 'kids' were busy fooling around and wouldn't pose for their annual family photo.

In The Boat Again...

It's a bit like the song, 'On the Road Again' by Willie Nelson. After a paddling dry spell with too much rain and too many days of being forced indoors, I had to get out and, as they say, 'get the smell of the house out of my clothes'. I finally got back in the cockpit and pushed off from shore. I was paddling again.

It was a glorious day, crisp air, sunny skies and just enough wind to put some back into the strokes. I began by heading towards town...


Then I headed upwind for a bit...


And finally I went around the point...


All in wonderful colour. Heaven better be this good or I'm not interested!

Goodbye To The 'Good Olde Days'

Remember those days when you could finally swim all the way to the raft? You could get to play with the big kids, jump off the tower, do back-flips into the deep water, kiss your girl-friend under the raft where the adults couldn't see you? Ah, those were the days!

Well, it's a bit different today. Of course, the summer has gone, but as the photo suggests, there's a new gang out at the raft. They're not particularly interested in whether you can swim out there. In fact, they'd rather you didn't. They aren't really into games or girl-friends. And they certainly have no idea about cleanliness!

There have been no end of attempts to get the new flock to play elsewhere, but these days, without any competition, they've taken over. The 'Good Olde Days' have gone, at least for another year.

Paddle # 47 of the Year.

Once again, calm weather prevailed on the lake. As I was putting the boat away, I could see a breeze beginning and was tempted to head out once again, but with the luck I've been having, my presence on the water would return conditions to calm once again. I finished putting things away and drove home. As you can see from the photo above, the leaves are beginning to turn. Not many scarlet colours out yet, but the browns and yellows are coming along. Hopefully it won't rain too much this week and the reds will break out. We haven't had a really good fall colour display for a few years and I'd like to go out for a paddle in the blazing glory. Bring it on!


Before leaving however, my eye caught this little fellow. I didn't flip him (her?) over to check his tummy, but I'm assuming he's a ring neck snake which has a distribution from Nova Scotia to Mexico in eastern North America. I never saw the colour of his tummy which ought to have been red to yellow. I should have checked because now I'm curious to know if my identification is correct or not. I must take more time to see life's details!

Hot, Flat and Wait, What's That?

I've been trying to read Thomas Friedman's latest book, Hot, Flat and Crowded. Not an easy read given the implications he's suggesting about our collective inability to comes to grips with what we're doing to our precious planet.

A couple of days ago, refreshed from a glorious long weekend playing around on a secluded lake, with good friends, I happen to pass this interesting scene. At first nothing appeared out of the ordinary, until my eye caught the green roof over the patio bar. A living roof! Sown with what seemed to be wild-flowers! Mr. Friedman would have been proud. Green roofs won't save our world from devastation, but they're a bit like a finger pointing in the direction we need to be going. Like a sun-roof on a Prius, like the electric panel on my camper, like providing some serious health care for our planet... well you get the idea. I hope.

Cooling Up, Cooling Down

In the recent hot weather we've been aaa... enjoying (over 30°C and humid), there have been two means of staying cool. The obvious one was to get the boat out on the water and practice rolling and rescuing, standing up to paddle, parading on the aft deck and so on. It was never long before one ended up more in the water than on it.

The next preferred cooling technique was to go climbing. In the photo above friends and family took a post-wedding (my daughter married her beau on the weekend) hike up a local hill called the Pinnacle where we caught a welcome breeze and a hazy view.

Migration Season

Living and paddling where I do makes for interesting times, especially in the Spring and Fall when many species of birds migrate. You might think that being out on the same water several times a week can get boring, but these birds are one of the things that keep things interesting.

Yesterday as I paddled down the western shore, I noticed an unusual duck. As the various merganser ducks have been common recently, I thought it was one, but when it flew off, I missed seeing the large white wing patches. Instead this bird had a narrow white band along the trailing edges of its wings.

A little later, returning along the eastern shore, I came across the same bird. This time it didn't take off immediately on my approach so I was able to get the quick photo found above. Once I was at home I was able to identify it. It's a Greater Scaup, one of two Scaups found in eastern Canada. It will soon head on further north unlike the three loons I also saw who will spend the summer in the area.

100 Day Paddle Slideshow

A collection of photos taken during my 100 consecutive days of paddling from August to December a few years ago mostly on Lake Massawippi, Québec. A couple of shots were taken at the Delmarva Paddler's Retreat in Delaware. Enjoy!

Greening The Hills

Okay, so this photo doesn't show what I'm trying to get across, but there is a hint of green in the hills around here. One of the nicest signs of spring is the subtle hint of green in the woods. It's a young green, a just barely green, a new-born sort of green, a difficult to describe kind of green. In short, the leaves are slowly bursting from their buds and unfolding into their final summer shape and size. Soon the raw browns will be hidden and we'll be paddling in a green coloured wonderland. Green is a better paddling colour than brown, unless the browns are glorious soaring rocky cliffs!

Drysuit Heat Doesn't Suit

We been struck with incredibly warm temperatures the past few days, which is always nice if you're not studying for exams, but today things have moved into the ridiculous stage. Air temps are over 30°C and that's just too hot for me to consider putting on my drysuit and heading out for a paddle. With water temperatures in the 2°C range, I'm reluctant to paddle without my drysuit, so I'm shore bound and heat struck!

Not all is lost however, I'll wait until this evening and take a dusk paddle when things cool off a bit. There's always a way to get out for a paddle!

Taking The Train To Nowhere

With the requirement for proper environmental assessments now removed in the gutted Navigable Waters Act, Canadians are beginning to see what the government's economic recovery program looks like. I'm wondering if we are about to build a bunch of tracks to oblivion? Is this a Canada looking to the future? There are hydro dams projects starting in La Romaine and British Columbia and I hear a gas pipeline project is being pushed ahead up the Mackenzie river. While these projects will generate jobs and other industrial activity, what are the long lasting effects? Are we kidding ourselves with all this activity? Are we living in the past which gave us the problems we see all around us?

Clearly two things come to mind. Certainly pristine paddling environments will be lost as this program moves ahead. Natural waterways will be ruined for many water-users from fish to paddlers. While the many parts of the world move ahead with projects for a future 'green' economy where low carbon footprint and environmental impacts are minimized, Canada's answer is more of the same old destructive activities. The retaining lakes behind hydro dams will create tons of carbon emissions as the flooded lands rot and where mercury pollution will again seep into every living thing. Natural gas from the arctic speaks of the world we ought to be leaving behind, not a bright new future. Flooding indigenous people's heritage lands in British Columbia again is old, tired thinking which benefits no one.

Sadly Canadians have saddled the country with a backwards thinking government which is leaving us mired in the past. Having recently elected this government, some Canadians are now about to take it to court to get it to act more intelligently. I wish them luck, but feel we really need to start electing people who can see the future and stop dreaming of the past. For my part, I'll be watching my nearby lakes and rivers like a hawk. I don't like where we're headed. Those tracks in the photo don't give me hope...

So Where Does The Ice Go?

For the past week the ice on my local lake has been looking more and more rotten. Next it broke into huge rafts which the wind began blowing back and forth. The rafts would push up against each other and up the beaches and wharves. When I went for my first paddle on the lake yesterday, almost all the ice rafts had suddenly disappeared. Where did it go?

Well some of it is still floating on the lake. In the above photo, you can see the ice as a thin white line on the water horizon (click on the photo to enlarge it). This last piece still stretches from shore to shore. One of the first sections of the lake to freeze last fall, it must be thicker and will be the last to go.


Some of the remaining ice is piled on the shore where it got pushed during the past few days. I can only assume that the rest simply melted. When you think of the tremendous amount of energy required to melt ice, it is one of Nature's little miracles that enough heat energy is available each spring to get the job done!

Almost There!

I took another wander around my local lake today to see how the melt was coming along. I've good news. The ice has broken into a number of large rafts and it being blown here and there by the wind. At one point I watched it being pushed up and over a cement wharf. It's always amazing to watch the slow, unstoppable power of so much weight once it begins to move.

It made me realise, it was no place to be in a kayak. The temptation was there, especially when I saw the open water along the shore. I could paddle there, I thought. Later as the ice quickly closed the gap and tumbled over the wharf and up the shoreline, I began to think otherwise.

Patience is the game here. Another day or two and I'll be out there...

Beautiful Weather

I swung down past my lake this afternoon to see how things were coming along. It was a bit nippy at 3°C, but the rain was steady. A little wind, actually a lot of wind, would have made it a perfect day. That dark line of ice seen in the middle of the lake is now in the 'candle' stage of melt meaning the crystals are aligned vertically rather than horizontally. In this configuration, the ice has little strength to resist any sideways force like wind or current. It also means than the warm rain water percolates down into the ice following the spaces between the crystals and hurries up the melt process. So bring it on! I'm ready to paddle on a moment's notice.

Bad Day At The Feeder

Daily events at our bird feeders don't often rise much beyond the benign. That changed this week with the arrival of a new bird, seen here at the base of the spruce tree.


A sharp-shinned hawk! As you can well imagine the sudden arrival of this new visitor has not been without incident. A female pine grosbeak has been the first victim. Hopefully she will be the last. While hawks have their place, I'm sure, they don't get along with the feeder crowd the way I see it. They should find their own feeding ground...