Here are some numbers from the last two days of kayaking: 1 - La Crosse ball found in a foot of water. Added it to my collection. Now I have 2. 2 - hours spent on Tuesday paddling through and photographing the now open lillies. 4 - hours spent on Monday paddling to a golf course waterway, collecting balls along the banks. 45 minutes to get there and then 45 minutes back again. 6 - times a red wing blackbird thumped my stern while chasing me out of 'his' territory. 12 - tennis balls found floating by the dog park. Threw them back to the dogs. Owners much appreciative. Make note: dogs slacking on their job. 16 - half grown ducklings following one stressed out mother. 20 - minutes spent drying out my gear after a failed entry. No one saw it happen. Maybe it didn't. 106 - golf balls collected in 2 hours while kayaking through the waterway that splits Wayne's Golf Course. 1 zillion - lillies in bloom. Took many photographs. I push away from shore, adjust my spray skirt and pull the craft away from the bonds of my existance. A magnet must be pulling me back. At first my strokes are slow as my craft seems to be acclimating itself to the watery environment. A wild bird watches the strange man fish craft warily. My right stroke and my left stroke at first are the same but with a slight breeze, a current, or the decision to change course I soon must make corrections. To the person watching from the beach it must look like the paddler puts one stroke in front of the other in an uninterrupted wheel of motion, propelling the long slender craft forward in an effortless manner. But to the paddler, every stroke is different. A hard right, a less than enthusiastic left. A lean, an opposite sweep. Reach further forward and pull all the way back on one side then abbreviate on the opposite. All of this gets poured into a short fast cadence or a long slower one. It becomes hypnotic and zen like. Life becomes incredibly simple. I can only do two things: paddle or glide. I love the glide but I must paddle in order to glide. Therefore I love to paddle. I glide into the shallows where I spot a golf ball in about 8 inches of water. I paddle my craft sideways into place with expert technique. I feel like I'm part of this watery envionment. I belong here just like the fish and the plants and the water fowl that belong here. I feel their rhythms and bring my own sympathetic vibrations and thereby fit in. I reach into the water and grab my hard white spherical quarry and slowly move on. I paddle these waters almost every week. I wonder if those are the same ducklings I saw last week. My how they grow fast. Good luck to you in your new life. Like all of the other citizens of the waterways I keep my silence and break it when need be. I paddle quietly so as not to bring unwanted attention to myself. Then I paddle quickly and my sudden rapid splashy noises sends a signal to the community that I am moving on. But no matter how respectful I am to the other citizens we all know I am still just a temporary visitor. Evenually I must go back to shore. I'm sunburned and my butt is tired. I slide gently into a soft sandy spot at the boat launch. In ten minutes I am driving through what seems like another dimension. Sometimes it seems almost unreal, although I have to admit that it's not totally uncomfortable. http://picasaweb.google.com/kayakster/Lillies ------------------------ Paul Montgomery paul_at_paddleandoar.com http://paddleandoar.com ------------------------ *************************************************************************** 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. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> I push away from shore, adjust my spray skirt and pull the craft away > from the bonds of my existance. > It becomes hypnotic and zen like. Life becomes incredibly simple. Paddling is the only thing I have ever done that has allowed me to fully attain a feeling of perfect peace. It only happens when I paddle alone in a calm place where I can completely relax. Places like beyond the rocks on the Savannah river where most people turn back or up an old creek bed at the local impoundment where the bass and striper boats bottom out. It makes me feel very awake and aware of the amazing details. And its low fat and non polluting. Thanks for the report Paul, Jim et al *************************************************************************** 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. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I paddled the big freighter canoe through a sea of lilies on Sunday, for Canada Day, with my spouse and two daughters. Floating and paddling along, as one of my daughters picked a white and pink lily flower, I think we all felt surreal - stress melting away under summer skies and family bonds tightening naturally. Later, watching the Canada Day fireworks as a family, my eldest daughter observed that as spectacular as the display was, nothing man-made compares to the awesomeness of nature. I was grateful that night to live in a free country, surrounded by beauty, where my needs and wants are amply met, and where outdoor experiences abound and nature doesn't force me to be a combatant in the game of survival - at least not when canoeing. :-) Thanks for the report and pictures. Doug Lloyd snip > I slide gently into a soft sandy spot at the boat launch. In ten > minutes I am driving through what seems like another dimension. > Sometimes it seems almost unreal, although I have to admit that it's > not totally uncomfortable. > > http://picasaweb.google.com/kayakster/Lillies *************************************************************************** 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. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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