Re: [Paddlewise] Easter morning water time...

I left the house early on Sunday, Easter morning.  Friday had been a good
day to be off work which I completely squandered surveying gear,
re-sorting the piles, making a few repairs, and even tying up some new
sets of tarp lines.  I sort my "water stuff" into 2 large mesh bags which
go together into yet a larger mesh bag.  The red bag is for "gear"
related stuff.  The white bag is for "clothing" related stuff.  The Sea
Lion and the Spectrum each have a small complement of permanent onboard
gear which gets supplemented depending on season, weather, destination,
and duration.  I notice that my canoe suffers from bow and stern wasp
nests.  Often, I forget my simple definition for bag delineation, and
some article may be "lost" for a short while.  Sooner or later it usually
turns up...crammed forward in the bow, stuffed all the way aft, or muddy
and trampled in the cockpit.  All camping gear stays stowed in the VW
bus.  Saturday was a wasted day spent doing needless necessary tractor
maintenance to get ready for the utterly, totally useless repetitive
action of mowing the grass.  Don't get me wrong now.  I am very
concientious and very reliable in that I mow my yard once a month
...whether it needs it or not.   8->   

Having done my April mowing, I leave the house early Sunday anticipating
a glorious Easter sunrise across a broad stretch of open backwater.  I
put-in at Choudrant Creek, paddle out thru, and then along, a flooded
treeline for about 45 minutes waiting for the sky to lighten.  
Finally I realize how cloudy and overcast it is.  No sunrise today.  A
thick high ceiling of dense clouds gives sunrise more of a twilight
effect this morning.  No single source of light seems to exist. 
Everything has this dim, muted, half-light look, like a full solar
eclipse does for a short time, only darker.  There is no immediate threat
of rain, but anyone could tell it is not far off.  The sky is very socked
in with a smooth, solid cover of clouds high overhead.  The water appears
almost like glass, dark glass; smooth beyond belief, without ripple,
except from boat and paddle, and with only a slight undulation to the
water's surface.  The water is very smooth and very flat.  I think I
notice the sky growing somewhat brighter.  But, a short time later the
clouds to the west, the few I can see through the near tree line, are
taking on a darker shading.  Hmmm, this is starting to nasty up a bit...

The eerie light continues to develop over the next hour or so.  It grows
brighter, but does not seem like daylight.  There is still no single
spot, or evident source of the light.  Small details of leaves, bush,
tree, and trunk sharpen, and color is enhanced, even though the clouds
are growing darker, taking on the color of a fully ripe eggplant.  The
numerous shades of new leafy spring green, nearby and across the open
water, begin to intensify in this strangely filtered light and seem
almost florescent against the dark timber background.  Whoosh...a strong
blast of sudden wind rocks the near tree line.  The large branches and
the freshly leafed tops of what is mostly tall oak, swirl and sway in
stiff, slow motion type  movements against the moving air pressure.  The
wind skids across the water and hits me broadside from my left.  I brace
against the wind to steady myself.  Stringy layers of saturated, moisture
laden clouds quickly appear, running low as they are pushed across fast
by the wind.  Snaking along in a low, thick skein with a wispy, ragged
look, these are some serious rain clouds and they are in a hurry to do
their thing.  A sudden pelting of rain rattles across the water, wind
blown and angling down hard making thump-thump sounds on deck and skirt. 
Fat rain plops fan out disturbing the water ahead.  The scene of smooth
water changing quickly to a rippled dancing surface is mesmerizing as it
happens.  Suddenly, I am in really heavy rain.  Visibility is less than
100 yards and is closing in fast.  I shorten the distance to the near
treeline hoping for some wind and rain cover there.  Damn, this thing
came out of nowhere.  The rain continues to intensify.  An old logging
road, flooded with backwater for the past 3 months, becomes my pathway to
a landing spot.  I am less than a half-mile from ground, but thick
wind-blown forest and buckets of falling rain stand between.  This is
some of the heaviest rain I have been in lately...Hmmmm, a few miserable
memories come back to me of another lifetime and the monsoon of '69 spent
in the QueSon mountains about 50 miles S-W of DaNang ...ahhhh, yes, a
fully paid jungle excursion courtesy of USMC.  Fact is, I was not
comfortable going anywhere if there was even a chance of getting rained
on for about 10 years after.  At least I won't have patrol or radio-watch
tonight.  Reaching ground I quickly huddle on, and under, a poncho wrap
to wait out the storm.  Hardly any lightning and thunder occur as this
uninterrupted, solid sheet of rain falls constantly for quite a while. 
The sound of the heavy rain coming down through the trees is almost
perfect white noise.  Actually, it is invigorating to see, to hear, to
feel this rain storm from a somewhat protected place.  I wonder to myself
just how many easter egg hunts are being washed out.  Too bad.  My advice
?  Take up paddling and never have a ruined holiday again.  The rain
falls so hard even the mosquitos have all hunkered down somewhere as
well.  The temperature cools down noticeably.  Later, the weather service
report says we got over 2 inches of rain...in less than an hour.

I make it home in time to roast a few peppers for my contribution to our
Easter pot-luck dinner.  I have only recently "discovered" fresh chiles
and am experimenting with all kinds of recipes.  Today I am making 4
different choices of a Veggie Tortilla Thing that will range from "Spicy"
all the way up to "CAUTION-Habanero inside".  Anybody got a easy,
favorite pepper recipe out there they want to share ?

...adieu  ...Peyton (Louisiana)
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