After several weekends of cold rain and the current weekend of bright sunshine and blue skies, I decided I really needed to get out in a kayak on the bayou. Did I mention the high wind? Several times yesterday I thought to myself "gee, I'm sure glad I'm not out paddling in this wind" but a second day of it was not enough to hold me back. I pulled into the Bay Area Park/Armand Bayou parking lot an hour later than I'd planned, close to 10 o'clock. The high wind tossing and pulling on my car and kayak was accompanied by Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major on KRTS. Definitely a psyching-up piece of music. I sat in the parking lot for 20 minutes until the Finale. Two cars cruised by, neither stayed. Amazing for a warm and sunshiny morning, can't remember another Sunday when it was so deserted. Gee, maybe it was the steady 25 mph wind, surely gusting in the 30s. Air temperatures were upper 60s and into the 70s. Serious bracing into the wind was required to get the boat from cartop to water, and rather than deal with turning the boat, I paddled backward onto the water, directly into the wind. The Falcon is superb under these conditions and I rejoiced in her light touch and straight tracking. We cleared the dock and headed upstream with the wind at our backs. As expected the woodlands farther upstream broke the wind's force and in some areas the water was hardly rippled. The bayou wildlife seems accustomed to paddlers (no motors allowed) and it's amazing how close you can get. I passed within 50' of the first osprey, perched in a drowned tree with it roots covered in bayou water. It wasn't long before I started noticing turtles hauled out on stumps and downed trees along the waterway, more and more of them as I paddled on. They are the shiest critters on the bayou, very fast disappearing as soon as they notice you. A second osprey was a little more shy than the first. I wondered what she'd do as I saw she had a large fish in her talons. I tried doing as I did for the first one, aiming my face and dark glasses off in the other direction, shifting only my eyes in her direction. Didn't work this time, and she took off flying very low, either to keep out of the big winds higher up, or because the fish was heavy. Other fishing birds stayed down out of the wind - a great white egret, lots of snowies, several great blues. Wading birds covered the mud flats exposed by the low water conditions. One particularly productive flat had killdeers, plovers, lesser yellow legs, snowy egrets. Gulls hung out in the park area; kingfishers winged across the bayou. With all the other wildlife in evidence, I began wondering if I'd see any alligators. The hand-in-the-water pushoff technique indicated a temperature surely not above 60 degrees. But that warm sunshine on exposed mudflats, and areas with good windbreaks was too much for the gators to resist. The first one I saw was about 6-8' in length, hauled out in full view to my left. Not a half mile upstream, a juvenile about 3' long on the right. Beyond that, another 6'-er. Hmmm, I thought to myself, low water, warm day, wonder if I can get under the upstream bridge without having to get out of my boat - wonder if the water hyacinth that choked the bayou closed at that point would let me through. Aha, as I got to the bridge I saw not only had the hyacinth been blown back from the bridge, and probably damaged by frost too, but it also parted to reveal open water bayou upstream so off I went in hopes of seeing THE BIG ONE I'd seen only twice before way upstream. Another medium-sized gator, and another, and I'm approaching the spot where I last saw THE BIG ONE. I cautiously rounded the bend, shucks, no big 'gator, nor any of the court of worshippers (other, only 10' long gators) that had been in attendance. Paddled around the next bend WHOA, NELLIE, there he is, only 30' away. Black/brown mud flinging in all directions as the gator scrambles for the water: Whitewater flew from my paddle blade as I flailed for the quickest reverse I could muster. I turn around grinning, this is perfection. Rusty blackhaw viburnum is in full spring bloom, bright white on the banks of the bayou. A big spot of yellow jasmine another place - the woods have that hint of spring green buds just waiting to burst. I'm not far into the return paddle when I run head-on into the wind. I'm thinking "storm paddle, storm paddle" as I paddle on, wondering if one of those would be the better choice than my feathered Euro blade. Only two other kayakers on the bayou, both of them in Eddylines (is this a sign?). An obviously novice canoeist is wrestling with the wind much closer to the boat ramp. Vivaldi accompanied my return drive. Redbuds are in full bloom in protected spots, and pink witch hazel. "Bull on the roof" (English translation) picks up where Vivaldi leaves off. I admire a leggy pup crossing the street as I'm stopped for the traffic signal. On the other end of the leash, a nice looking young man, shirtless, and breaking into a run with the pup on the grass bank opposite. Pup leaps forward and is tripped up by the leash, goes end over end. Man does the same, tripping on pup and leash. He stands up laughing in the spring green grass. It's that kind of a day. Thanks for coming along for the ride, hope the weather is warming in your part of the world. Natalie Wiest rudderless, skegless, Euro-bladed and rubber-boot clad in Texas ...where the men are good looking, the women are strong, and the kayaking above average *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. 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