Emory Mclaughlin Paddles

Paddling close to home

2009-05-26T15:04:00.004-04:00

Nothing like paddling close to the house. Today we got one of the torrential downpours. I swear we got an inch in about 30 minutes. As I type this the sun is back out. This is me and my son in the canoe under the swing set.

My daughter and son are in the boat having fun. I have to say the umbrellas make great foul weather gear.

It took them a little while to talk me into getting out the canoe. But we had fun. I know none of us are wearing life jackets but the water was barely deep enough to float the boat I figured we could risk it. They tried to talk me into the paddles but that was where I drew the line.

Wacissa River 3-09

2009-03-21T19:33:00.003-04:00

Back paddling after a long break. It has been along time since I have been out paddling. My shoulder is finally feeling better and I have taken up running. I have even started training for some triathlons this summer. I had a free weekend and decided to go paddle the Wacissa River. This is one of my favorite place to paddle. There is usually a ton of wildlife on the river. Today there wasn't as much as in past trips. It was such a nice day, however. It was really good to be back on the water. My boat felt good going through the water.

This is a Great Blue Heron that was hanging out on the side of the river. I watched him for quite a while. Then the wind blew me off the weeds I was sitting in and this was enough to cause him to fly off.
I have to check my bird book when I get home but I am pretty sure this is a juvenile White Egret. They start out dark and then turn white. Also in the picture is a turtle. They were both soaking up some sun. It was kind of cool and breezy.

This guy was definitely soaking up some rays. They have these swim platforms up in Blue Spring and this gator was hanging out. Not that there were people wanting to swim but this would cut down on the swimmers. He is only about 5 feet long but that was big enough for me. It was a very nice day out on the river and I am staying at one of the cabins at the KOA campground by Tallahassee. The cabins are pretty nice and it really cuts donw on the noise from the highway. Tomorrow I am going to spend some more time on the river early in the morning.

Stay tuned

River images

2008-11-21T22:46:00.006-05:00

I haven't been paddling much lately. I have been teaching a lot and doing physical therapy for my shoulder. Enough about that though, here is a vase I had in my studio. I had always intended to do some carving on it. I decided to carve this Snowy Egret on it. I am pretty happy with how it came out. The vase is made from Sycamore. The picture is a combination of carving and wood burning. Stuff like this will keep my busy when I am unable to get out on the water.

Lately there have been 2 wood storks hanging out at the drainage ditch by my house. I need to get some pictures of them the next time they are around.

I hurt my shoulder

2008-10-09T23:52:00.002-04:00

Today I went to the doctor to have my shoulder looked at today. It has been hurting for a while. I haven't been doing as much paddling as I would like. I have a small tear in one of the muscles. I will have to do a few weeks of physical therapy. I am betting one of the exercises won't be the rowing machine. I don't start the therapy for 2 weeks so I will have to be patient. This is going to cut down on my time out on the water. :-(

The good news is I have a lot of wood turning classes coming up so I was going to be pretty busy teaching and wouldn't have a lot of time to paddle. I was planning on a day or 2 on the water though. Time will tell. And I will definitely be back out there.

Black & White Wednesday

2008-10-01T11:25:00.005-04:00

This is an older picture. I was unable to get out on the water last weekend. I liked this picture it reminded me of a little kid sitting over in the corner thinking if I don't look at you then you really aren't there.

As I drifted by, this guy never moved. Although it is amazing how fast they are able to move when the mood strikes them. And you hate to see them slide into the water as you approach. Especially if the water is dark and you can't see where they are going.

I hope you enjoy the picture and my the alligators always ignore you too !!!

Black & White Wednesday

2008-09-24T11:56:00.003-04:00

My boat is waiting patiently...

I usually carry the boat down to the water first and then return for the rest of my gear. This day was no exception. I can carry everything down in one trip but two is much easier. When the water is this dark you get the nice reflections. The tannins in the water made it the darkest I have seen water in a while. I saw my share of dark water when I used to clean boat bottoms. I would dive somedays and would have zero visibility. Some days I could hold my dive light out at arms reach and not be able to see it shining at my face. Days like that are great for reflections but bad for working under water.

Juniper Prairie

2008-09-20T11:37:00.003-04:00

After cruising downstream through the jungle. The creek opens up a bit and you are greeted by a bit of Florida type Prairie. I spotted this palm tree and took a few pictures as the current swept me by.

Enjoy,

Black and White Wednesday, Juniper Creek

2008-09-17T10:00:00.001-04:00

These are more pictures of Juniper Creek. These have been converted to Black and White. They have the feel of old time Florida. If you can overlook the kevlar canoe and imagine an old wood and canvas canoe. The scene would look the same.

We actually had to paddle under that log. Laura is approaching the log and getting ready to duck under. It was pretty close for her. I can't imagine what I looked like going through in my canoe.
We passed by this old tree. I was thinking this would be a perfect place for an Osprey or a hawk to hang out and watch for fish and stuff passing by. Then the bird could swoop down out of the tree and catch lunch.

I hope you have enjoyed todays pictures.

Juvenile Ibis

2008-09-16T12:46:00.002-04:00

Juniper creek is a challenging creek to paddle. I spotted some raccoons and turtles and even aligators. I was able to pull over and take a few pictures of this Ibis hanging out on the shoreline. I like how the sun makes his bill kind of translucent. I also liked how the feathers on his neck are still his baby feathers.

I enjoyed paddling the creek. We didn't see a lot of wildlife however there is a lot of greenery blocking the shoreline so most of the time you can only see the water. I may have to try it again after it cools off and some of the trees loose some of their leaves.

Juniper Creek

2008-09-14T23:04:00.002-04:00

Today I went to Juniper Creek with my friend Laura. This is always a challenging place to paddle. The creek has some current that pushes you along nicely. The creek makes many twists and turns. It is also very overgrown. There are lots of trees and branches both across the water and in the water. I can't even guess how many times I had to duck down into the canoe to pass under something. I only ended up with one scratch on my arm from a branch. I went through my share of overhanging branches. At one point I was going along pretty good and my hat got caught on a branch and almost pulled me from the boat. While I was recovering from that I drove straight into a Cyprus tree. I was going about 3 kts. And then I was at a full stop.

This is Laura smiling for the camera. Laura was pretty fast in her boat. This was the first time we had paddled together. We used to teach sailing together years ago. And we have both paddled for a while, today was our first trip paddling. We took turns leading, usually one of us would get hung up on something and the other would pass trying to stay clear. Once you knew which way not to go it was much easier to get through an obstacle.
I don't get many pictures of myself paddling. The good part about having the only camera was Laura didn't take any pictures of me crashing into trees and then getting caught across the creek as my boat was swept sideways into both shorelines. Sometimes the only way through an obstacle was backwards. It made for an interesting day.
I just liked this picture. I can imagine this is what Florida looked like in the old days. Check out the clouds reflected on the waters surface. The tress come right out over the water. Even though it was in the 80's today the spring fed water kept things cool.
The Park people said the creek had been closed for the last 2 weeks while they waited for the water levels to go down and then they had to clear some of the deadfall. They just clear the bear minimum. I still find it hard to believe as many people use this creek. I would think it would be cleared slightly more. There are a few signs of other people floating the creek but they are pretty minimal. I would suggest to any one thinking about doing this creek to make sure your boat handling skills are good, because they will be put to the test.

Stay tuned more to come,

Peace

Red Dragon Fly

2008-09-11T10:33:00.003-04:00

I have liked Dragon Flies for as long as I can remember. In the past I would just marvel at how well they fly. Plus I like the buzzing sound they make. I saw at least 3 different (Colors) kinds of Dragon Flies on this day. This was the only one willing to have his picture taken. Which was a good thing because I don't think I have ever seen a red Dragon Fly before.

I spotted this Red Dragon Fly sitting on this branch. I lifted my camera up to take a picture and off he flew. I set there for a minute looking around and he came back and landed on the same branch. I was able to take a few pictures before he flew off again.

My Ride is waiting

2008-09-10T00:53:00.005-04:00

Black and White Wednesday

My canoe is patiently waiting for me to carry the rest of my gear down to the dock and get in the boat. The water was very dark. I could not see below the surface at all. There was a ton of run off coming from the woods. The current is running from the left to the right in the picture.

This is a view looking up stream. I usually go either upstream or upwind first. That way if there are any problems you can drift back towards where you started from. Also the second half of your trip is easier. The only hard thing is timing your trip. Paddling upstream takes a lot longer then paddling and drifting back.
As I stated earlier I can't wait to try this creek again. I will wait till the weather is cooler. I think it will be a nice day trip.

Stay tuned....

Thomas Creek , Jacksonville

2008-09-07T15:20:00.005-04:00

Today I thought I thought I would try out a new place. I have been looking for some places that are closer to my house. That aren't lined with houses on both banks and actually have some wildlife to see. I heard about this creek and thought I would give it a try. It amazes me that you can drive for 30 minutes on I-95 with no traffic and still be in the city. This is a city park located off Lem Turner out by the airport. There is a boat ramp and a small dock. The water was pretty high and still flowing out of the woods. This is rain we got from Hannah last week. I could tell the water was at least 3 feet higher because of all the trash caught up in the trees. I also had to paddle through 3 trees that had fallen down into the water.

I usually don't take pictures with the car in them but the view is very nice. I picked a nice shady place to park the car. It was worth carrying my canoe and stuff the extra 10 feet to get back and still have the car parked in the shade.
I spent most of the trip chasing the birds down the creek. I don't think the birds are used to seeing boats, or people. As soon as I would come around a bend the birds would spot me and fly a little further upstream. The other thing working against me was the water levels are still very high so the birds and other wildlife is able to stay further back in the woods making it harder to spot them. There were 4 Ibis in this tree. They were up high enough so they felt safe and stayed put.
King of the world.

After paddling over a tree that was spanning the creek I spotted this lizard on the front of my boat. He rode for a few minutes until I paddled over close enough to the shore line. Were he abandoned ship. He did look back and smile at me before jumping ship.

Thomas creek was a nice paddle. It is only about 45 minutes from my house. I can't wait to try it out this fall when the water level goes back down to normal levels and some of the foliage dies off. I imagine there will be a lot more to see.

DragonFlys

2008-08-07T12:29:00.005-04:00

I have been seeing Dragon flies all spring and summer. They are usually seen darting over here and darting over there. They are excellent fliers. These 2 were taken on the Wacissa River the last time I was there. This big Blue one landed on my life jacket. I thought it was interesting that he would land on the blue part of my jacket. Anyway he stayed there long enough for me to take a picture. Now if I could have just gotten him to pose a little longer and maybe a shot from the top.

I am pretty sure this one was laying eggs. I can imagine this is a dangerous activity for a Dragon Fly. I can imagine this Dragon Fly looking over her shoulder looking for a fish coming up looking for lunch. This one did get away clean. And hopefully we will have another crop of baby Dragon Flies to watch next year.
This is a piece of my woodturning that was inspired by the Dragon Flies I have been watching. The vase is made from Winged Elm (Thanks Florida Exotic Woods) This wood is very heavy. The logs this came from took 2 people to lift. It is a nice wood to work with and has a nice grain pattern. The piercing of the Dragon Fly was drawn on by hand. I did some wood burning to the lip of the vase to add some texture.
Enjoy,

Black & White Wednesday

2008-08-06T08:29:00.004-04:00

These pictures are from my recent trip to the Wacissa River. These were all converted from color to Black and White in Photoshop. I came across this Moorhen standing in these cattails. He was standing still like he was hiding, Maybe if he stood still enough I would not see him.

This Great Blue Heron was hanging out on the river taking in the sights. He had a nice perch on this log.
This Snowy Egret was running around on the weeds looking for lunch. He looks so skinny in this picture. These birds are so light they can walk around on the weeds looking for their meals.
Enjoy,

Peace

Another day another Deer

2008-08-03T22:40:00.005-04:00

Don't let the title fool you it isn't every day you see deer swimming across bodies of water.I have been fortunate enough to see 3 of them so far. This is out of the about 100 days I have spent on the water canoeing so far.

This one saw me coming and picked up speed going across the river. I managed to get this one picture of it leaping onto the show and then disappearing into the thick woods that line the shores of the Wacissa River. Each time I see a deer I am thankful, and when I see them swimming I am very thankful. I will keep going down to the river and keep my eyes open.

Peace

2008-07-31T12:27:00.001-04:00

More pictures of birds actually doing stuff

I came upon this Great Blue Egret striking this weird pose. I came to the conclusion that he was drying his wings. After emailing Peggy from Paddle tales she confirmed that he was doing just that. This bird looks about 3 feet tall and it was just the oddest pose.

I then spotted this Snowy Egret running around on the weeds. He would sink down slightly and have to flap his wings to continue on. It was quite entertaining to watch. Eventually he settled down and went back to the business of fishing.
This Green Heron was standing on this little log that was poking out of the water. He must have been bored with the fishing because he started grooming himself. I thought the way his wing was down was interesting. I either see these birds fishing or flying. So it was interesting to see his wing partially extended.
I spent more time with each bird this time and I think I got some better pictures. The weeds on the Wacissa make this a little easier as you can kind of park on the weeds. Getting across the weeds can be challenging as well. They slow the boat right down and even paddling becomes a chore.

Black & White Wednesday

2008-07-30T15:14:00.006-04:00

Monday Morning on the Wacissa River. It was just a little foggy when I got there. The sun was coming up from the left side of the picture so it seems a little foggier then it really was. The water was absolutly flat when I started paddling. The breeze did pick up to about 5 kts. Just enough to keep it comfortable. The rain fell later and made things steamy. Check out the last picture of this post.

There were lots of these Green Herons out fishing. They stand on these limbs over the water which is usually covered in this duckweed. How they are able to determine there are fish under there is a mystery to me. I have done some scuba diving in water with duck weed and it doesn't let any light through. I watched this bird for a while and he finally had to move to another branch closer to the water.
This bird (Snowy Egret) was posing nicely. Neck outstrechted , side profile and a nice background.
This was after a fairly short rain shower. It was one of those showers that just seems to make it hot and sticky. There was enough moisture in the air to leave this fog across the river and into the woods. There is a sit on top kayak on the left side of the picture.
Another nice day out on the water. I had the river almost to myself. And did I mention no Airboats. I have lots more pictures so stay tuned. I was able to spend 2 days on the Wacissa this trip.

Back on the Wacissa

2008-07-28T14:31:00.008-04:00

The stars must have been aligned or something like that.

The kids are spending the week at their grandparents house in Jay, Florida and Tami is working in Tallahassee for a couple of days. I drove over and meet her. We went to dinner with friends at a place called Masa's it is a Japanese restaurant I definitely want to go there again. This morning I got up and drove to the Wacissa River. This is a very nice river and I think it is worth the drive even with $4 gas. This first picture is the river fairly early. The fog burned off pretty quick.

The water was as still as glass. A little breeze came up later and keep it pleasant out on the water.
I went over to try and sneak up on a Tri-colored Heron (next picture) and this Butterfly came around and wasn't shy. I managed to get some good pictures and ended up close to the heron.
I spotted this Tri-colored Heron This one was standing there watching me take pictures of the butterfly and patiently waited his turn to model. I took several pictures and even backed away without him moving. These birds can stand still for so long. This one outlasted me.
This Egret was fishing and keeping an eye on me. It was just starting to rain. The first of several passing showers. The first few I didn't even have to get out my rain jacket.
I had lunch out on the river and then paddled back in the rain. It was just rain showers without any thunder or lightning. For the last mile upstream it was raining pretty good. I kept the camera in the dry bag and past by lots of birds that were just going about their business. It was good to be back out on this wonderful river. The first 4 hours I had it completely to my self. I saw a couple kayaks and 2 john boats and lots of birds.

Black & White Wednesday Lake photos

2008-07-17T07:46:00.006-04:00

Top of the Morning

This first picture was actually taken in color. The Anhinga and the sky provide the blacks and grays. So I am calling this a black and white photo. This bird had landed on the tree and then climbed up to the top. A few minutes later he was joined by another bird and the battle for king of the hill ensued. This fellow finally won, having the high ground gives you a big advantage.

Needle in a hay stack

Find the birds hidden in the photo. There are 6 of them. The first 5 are pretty easy to find and the 6th bird is a little harder. There are 3 different species.
2 Younglings

These 2 younglings were hanging out pretty much on their own. While all the other birds were up in the trees these 2 were standing down closer to the water. This did tend to get them away from most of the hubbub going on up in the trees.

3 Sisters

2008-07-13T14:11:00.005-04:00

A couple of days ago I was out riding my bike close to my house and went down to check out this small lake. I saw a guy fishing and as I looked down the lake I saw this very small island covered with egrets. Today I got up early and drove the 2 miles over there and launched my boat. I slowly paddled over close to the island and was rewarded with about 100 birds hanging out. Many of them are juveniles several of them still had the fuzz and not too many feathers. The lake is surrounded by houses and a 4 lane road. So a guy in a canoe didn't bother the birds one little bit.

Here is what I am calling the 3 sisters. These 3 Female Anhinga were sitting in the tree looking around and I can imagine talking. They would put there heads together (like the 2 pictured) and talk and then continue with their business.
Cattle Egrets

There were a lot of these hanging around. They were looking very cute with their feathers up like hats. Look close this one has a stick it its mouth and was building a nest over to the left just out of the frame.
Here it the rear view you can see the tan feathers on his back.
All in all it was a pretty nice paddle. It only took a few minutes to drive to the lake. The water was pretty still so the paddling was easy. There was just enough breeze to make it pleasant. The sky was cloudy so I took my rain jacket. Of course that guaranteed keeping the rain away.

Black and White Wednesday, Exchange Island pt.3

2008-07-09T23:45:00.002-04:00

I have been to Exchange Island 3 times in a row now. I have been there for a few reasons. Gas prices are high, I can drive there and paddle and still be home for lunch and despite the trash I like the island. It is located in the middle of the city and yet it feel like you are miles away. As long as you don't hear the traffic from the bridge.

There was an Egret and a Great Blue Heron in this tree.

This is what years of neglect and people who don't care looks like. This was just a small area of a much larger one covered with glass and trash. I had already picked up the cans and bottles. I am not to sure what to do about the broken glass.
Here is the Snowy Egret sitting on a stick overlooking the water.
As always Take it with you when you leave.

2008-07-06T11:27:00.002-04:00

Birds of Exchange Island

This Egret was coming in for a landing and spotted me and made a slight turn so as not to overfly me. This bird looks very elegant flying through the air with its wings outstretched. You can see how translucent the feathers are. It is amazing how something so thin and lightweight can hold up a bird.
This Great Blue Heron was flying along the shoreline looking for a place to land. He flew past me and landed about 1/4 mile down shore. He sure looked good going by.
I spotted this Snowy Egret and was able to paddle along the shore line and get pretty close and take several pictures. The reeds came out and I just paddled up to the reeds and sat there taking pictures. This bird knew I was there but I was partially hidden and apparently not threatening. I was able to back away after taking my pictures. This picture was taking on my way back to the boat ramp. I had already picked up trash along the shoreline in this area so there is nothing in the background to ruin a good photo.

Been a while

2008-07-04T08:42:00.006-04:00

It has been a while since I have been able to go out on the water. Traveling, Birthdays and just life in general have kept me doing other things. I do hear the water calling me and see my canoe waiting patiently for me. Yesterday I decided to go do some paddling. Since I had limited time I decided to go back to Exchange Island and pick up some more trash. I have got to figure out a way to get people to stop leaving it for me. I don't really like picking up trash especially other peoples trash. The people that are leaving this trash are other boaters. There is no other way to get to this island except by boat. I picked up trash along the shore line. This was stuff either floating in the water or in the weeds that I could reach with my grabber thing. I then landed on the island and checked out the place where people seem to camp. It was covered with trash since the last time I picked trash there (May 25th five weeks ago) I personally would not want to sit around the camp fire with beer cans and broken bottles all over the place. Then I spotted this trash bag in the tree. Some genius brought a bag and apparently put their trash in it. And then left it hanging over night and can you believe the raccoons got into it. Then deciding it was too much work to pick up their trash left this mess. I picked up 2 bags of trash again this time. One of the bags was in the area I picked up stuff last time I was here. I don''t even mess with the broken glass. I am very careful walking around. This is the last place I would ever go camping now.

Tomorrow I will post some nicer pictures of some birds. Stay tuned,

Black and White Wednesday, Exchange Island

2008-05-28T13:52:00.003-04:00

Usually B&W pictures look good but for this subject it doesn't matter. This is just somebody's mess plain and simple. There is just no good reason for people to leave a mess like this. If they ever want to go back to this spot it is covered in trash. I would hate to plan an outing and be greeted by this. The sad thing is to get to Exchange Island you have to go by boat. So stuff like this can't be blamed on any one except the people that are actually using this island.

PLEASE TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE!!!

Here are some nicer looking pictures. These flowers are nice they have great colors (see the Post below) They also look good in B&W because of the contrast.
This Egret was taking off as I came around a bend. Look at that wingspan. These birds are great flyers and are really good at fishing.
I spent most of my time picking up trash on this trip so I didn't take too many pictures. I did go home with 2 bags of trash, a milk crate and a boat fender. Which I gave to one of the power boaters that was launching at the ramp when I got back.

Trash pick-up

2008-05-25T22:59:00.003-04:00

I thought I would start this entry out with a nice picture. These flowers are growing in big patches all over Exchange Island. Last weekend the weather was bad enough to keep my off the water. Today the weather was a bit nicer. I started out paddling up current but downwind. This did make for some small waves. The boat handled it quite well, and paddling wasn't too hard.

This is a picture of my boat sitting on the shoreline notice the trash bags. I picked up 2 bags of trash within site of my boat. I was able to pick up about 30 bottles in one pile. I was really surprised at how much styrofoam I picked up. I found about 200 plastic screw top lids as well. The wind was blowing and starting to pick up so I cut my trip a little shorter then planned. I had another bag that I planned on filling. I talked to a couple in a kayak out on the water Frank and Lisa and they said they would fill up the bag so all is well.

This is a picture of a campsite on the island it just makes me angry that people would just leave this kind of mess. Now if they come back they are greeted to the trash and will probably just move to a different spot and leave that one a mess as well.

I wanted to end with a nicer picture The shoreline is quite nice even with the bridge in the background. This is a nice place to paddle and hang out. I have already picked out the next spot on the island where I will pick up trash next time.

Just remember there is plenty of trash to go around so if you are on the water take a few pieces with you and talk to every one you can and see if you can get them to do the same. I think we can get a handle on this and it starts with people talking about carrying out what they take in.

This is not the weather report you wanted to read

2008-05-18T08:16:00.005-04:00

The National Weather Service in Jacksonville has issued a lake wind advisory... which is in effect from noon today through 8pm EDT this evening.

An intensifying storm system will track well North of the area today. The tightening pressure gradient over the area will produce Southwest winds of 20 to 25 mph with gust to over 30 mph.

A lake wind advisory is issued when sustained winds of 20 to 25 mph or gusts of 30 to 39 mph are expected. Small Boats will be especially prone to capsizing. Boaters in the advisory area should avoid open water and stay close to shore in wind protected inlets. High profile vehicles should use extra caution when traveling as well.

This was the forecast I was greeted with this morning. I was going to go pick up trash on Exchange Island this morning. However I have to paddle across some exposed waters to get to the island. I felt the conditions were not good for the trip and were supposed to get worse as the day goes. I will have to try again another day.

The bad side of the island

2008-05-14T11:15:00.002-04:00

I spotted this boat along the shore line it is obviously home made I would be afraid ride too far in this boat. It does sport quite a paint job however. The bad news is it is abandoned here on the island. I can imagine the builders running this thing up on the beach afraid to continue any further in this craft.

This was a piece of plastic the I think had blown off the bridge and landed here in the trees.
This is part of some body's floating dock and of course it is surrounded by smaller pieces, cups, bottles and such.
More plastic trash.
Enough complaining about people littering. I am going to take matters in my own hands and start cleaning up this island. Over the next several weeks I plan on returning there every chance I get and picking up as much trash as possible. I will have to work on the big things and figure something out. Some of that stuff just won't fit in my canoe. The River keeper has a program for adopting a shore line I am going to adopt this island. My challenge to other boaters is to return with a few more pieces of trash then when you leave. We all enjoy the outdoors. Do your part and pack out what you take in and if you can bring another piece or two out even better.

Black and White Wednesday, Exchange Island pt.2

2008-05-14T10:47:00.002-04:00

I was unable to get out on the water last weekend due to weather, Mother's Day and teaching Woodturning. However I had some pictures that weren't posted last week that I did like so here a few more. I was drifting along Exchange Island. The breeze was pushing me along nicely. The Matthews Bridge is just ahead. If I kept going about 15 more mile I would end up in the Atlantic Ocean. I may have to make that trip another day. The currents move about 3 kts. through here all the way to the ocean.

This is another picture of the lagoon on the island. The water was perfectly still here. The clouds are reflected on the surface along with the trees.

"The wind was my friend today"

The wind was helping me today. I drifted along the Island and managed to stay out of the current the length of the island. When I reentered the current which was going against me the wind was pushing me so they just about canceled each other out. The current is moving from right to left in the picture with the wind going the opposite direction. This forms waves which made it a little interesting. I was defiantly keeping my eye on the conditions.

Animals of Exchange Island

2008-05-08T10:38:00.005-04:00

as soon as I got on the island I spotted these tracks. I believe they are raccoon. They disappeared into the thick underbrush so I didn't follow them too far. There were a ton of birds on the island. They weren't very cooperative and kept their distance. They would manage to stay in just enough brush to make them hard to photograph.

I was drifting along the shore line and watched this egret go in for a landing on the island. While I was changing lenses I almost drifted over these manatees. When I looked up my first thought was I was about to drift into a rock. As I was back paddling trying to avoid the rock it moved and I saw it was a manatee. I managed to get a few pictures as they moved off into deeper water.
I spotted this Cormorant flying along. I really like these birds. They are good flyers and they swim as well. And they have the coolest Turquoise eyes.
Not a great day for wildlife photography, however I did see 2 manatees some egrets, ospreys, and some small greenish birds. I didn't see the owner of the tracks but they still made an impact on me.

Black and White Wednesday, Exchange Island

2008-05-07T15:02:00.006-04:00

My canoe awaits me.

I landed in the lagoon and pulled my boat ashore. The water is very dark here and the lagoon is very protected. In fact it was blowing about 5 kts. out on the river. And being as protected as it was the bugs were very bad.

This is the view standing where the canoe in waiting. We are looking towards the opening of the lagoon. The water has an almost perfect reflection.
The next 2 pictures are of the Matthews Bridge. This bridge is tall enough for large ships to go under.
This is after I went through it and turned around to take some pictures of the bridge.
I hope you have enjoyed these Black and White pictures. I have 2 more posts coming up on this trip so stay tuned.

Exchange Island, St Johns Island, Jacksonville

2008-05-04T09:17:00.005-04:00

Paddling on the St. Johns River, Downtown Jacksonville. I started from the Arlington Road boat ramp and paddled over to Exchange Island. The island is actually located across from the industrial part of town on one side and residential on the other side of the river. It has a bridge that straddles the river and uses the island for a support. The only access is by water. On the southern portion of the island is a small lagoon. This monument was put here in 1960. It looks as if people have been vandalizing it. My brother and I camped on this island about 15 years ago. I remember seeing this monument but I don't remember the damage to it. I am thinking that is fairly recent. The other thing was all the trash. I am going to try and organize a trash pick up event. (More on that later) I will also dedicate a post to the some pictures of the trash.

On the second part of my trip the wind was cooperating. The island was shaped so I was protected from the current which was just starting to come in and the wind was behind me and pushing me down the shore line. I was enjoying listening to the birds and there were quite a few fish jumping.
This is my boat peeking through the weeds. I went ashore to walk around I pulled my boat up on the shore inside the small lagoon.
This is the Matthews Bridge. It connects Arlington with the East side of the river. It is one of the 4 bridges that cross the river in the downtown area.
This is just part of the ship yard. I looked like they were unloading this ship. I thought about paddling over and taking some pictures of my canoe next to the ship but the current was getting stronger.

Todays paddle was different from the places I usually go but it was still a nice to be on the water. I went out early and returned at around 10 am. The power boaters were just starting to show up at the boat ramp. It looked like it would be a busy day.

Black & White Wednesday Suwannee River

2008-04-30T13:30:00.005-04:00

This is the view looking out the front of the boat. This river has sand bars on one side and limestone cliffs on the other. The current washes the sand away to reveal the limestone cliffs and overhangs.

On the right side of this picture is sandy shores and the left is ricky shores. The water is very dark. It reflects everything.
This Cyprus tree was down by the water by itself. It makes me wonder how long it has before the river claims it and the tree begins its journey down stream.

"The Wind is my friend"

It was quite windy on the river both days. One thing I have learned from all my years boating is the wind will almost always be on the nose(Blowing straight from the direction you want to go) Of course being in a canoe from the side is almost worse. The ripples on the water is a puff of wind coming from about a 45 degree angle. The other thing of note is when the body of water isn't very wide and you see good size ripples you know the puff is pretty strong.
I saw this Turkey buzzard eating on something. The current was sweeping me directly towards him. I took a few pictures and was trying to avoid getting caught up in the debris. As I paddled away I saw he was working on a dead alligator and then I saw the rest of his buddies sitting further up in the tree. Once I got clear of the stuff in the water I had a bad angle for any more photos.

Still on the Suwannee

2008-04-29T14:21:00.002-04:00

Early morning fog on the Suwannee. This was the scene I was greeted with as I awoke. The fog burned off as the day heated up.

These guys were camped out just around the bend from me. They had been there all week. They had so much stuff they needed a trailer for their boat. This thing looked like it towed behind pretty well.

This is kind of a self portrait. I am usually careful not to get my shadow in the picture. I saw it from were I was standing and decided to take the picture anyway. I kind of like the effect.

Camping on the Suwannee

2008-04-25T23:01:00.002-04:00

This was my camping spot on the river last weekend. I paddled just past the I-75 bridge. This was about 2 miles from the bridge. Far enough to not hear the traffic. The sand bar was pretty good size. It also had a nice flat spot for my tent, the tarp and even an old fire ring.

This is the view from the other side of the bank. The bank was about 8 feet higher then the water level.
The water is very dark. It makes for these reflections. The trees are coming to life. Green is everywhere. It was very nice. The Limestone makes for quite a contrast to the trees. And seeing the trees growing out of the rocks is very cool.
This old bridge across the river was nice. I Enjoyed seeing it. The current was sweeping me by pretty quick.
This piling was from another bridge. I really liked the spiral pattern. And it was reflected in the water as well.
There was not a lot of wildlife visible along the river, but the trip was really nice. This would be a good trip to make with a group.

Sights along the Suwanee River

2008-04-22T22:53:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I spent 2 days on the river and camped over night. (More on that later) This picture was soon after starting. Notice the limestone overhangs. In places where the river turns you have rock on the outside of the curve and sand banks on the inside. The water is full of tannin so the water is almost black. It is pretty clean but very dark. It makes for these wonderful reflections in your pictures.

This was a root from a Cyprus tree. It reminded me of either an elephant or maybe even an Aardvark. It was a very cool natural formation.
This is a male Cardinal, I saw several of these. This was the only one that was nice enough to pose for me.
I camped on this sand bank. When I woke up in the morning there were all these little tracks running all over the place. It took me a while to find this guy. He can be seen making tracks. Just going about his business. I imagine they were looking for food.
This was the only turtle I saw all weekend. He was about a foot long, and very shiny.
Viewing wildlife from the Suwanee River is pretty tough. The banks are for the most part high and very steep. They are also mostly limestone. I heard a ton of birds all weekend. Most I never saw. I also saw a lot of them that were in a hurry or back further in the trees making them selves harder to photograph. The other thing that makes it tough is the current was running pretty strong. It would sweep you right by stuff. Stay tuned for Black and White Wednesday.

Stars Over the Suwannee River

2008-04-20T23:23:00.003-04:00

This is a Time lapse video I made from my trip this weekend on the Suwannee River. I hope you enjoy the video. I am still practicing on making these time laspe videos. It takes many pictures to produce one of these. The pictures are 30 seconds apart and then they play back at 15 frames a second.

More to come,

Stay turned

Black & White Wednesday Santa Fe River

2008-04-09T12:17:00.004-04:00

Early morning on the river. I got up and saw this fog on the river. So naturally I put the boat in the water and paddled around a bit. I took some B&W pictures cause this scene just begged for it. These Cyprus Trees were standing there waiting. I also like the reflections on the water. Notice the waterlines on the trees as well.

This is my boat tied up on the bank waiting to be loaded for the days trip.
My view from camp. I was camped right on the banks of the river. I will talk about the trip tomorrow.

Another view of the river from my camp. You can see the boat waiting. The river is calm now but that would change later.

Wild life on the Santa Fe River

2008-04-08T11:19:00.004-04:00

This was a group of Turkeys I spotted. This was the edge of someone's backyard right on the edge of the woods. This picture was taken early in the morning. There was another grouping of 4 or 5 just in the tree line. I wasn't able to get a decent picture of them.

This alligator was cruising along in the river. It looked to be about a 6 footer. He headed over to the bank and I stayed on the other side of the river. In the picture he is floating pretty high in the water. As I got closer he sank down until only his eyes and nose was out of the water and then he disappeared completely.

These 2 turtles had a nice little rock to sit on and check things out. They were keeping an eye on me as I passed by. Of course I was keeping an eye out for submerged rocks. I did manage to get a few new scratches on the bottom of the boat.
I spotted this deer standing in the brush. As I got closer she started to walk up towards the trees. Finally she turned and looked back posing for a picture and then walked off into the trees.
This Yellow Crowned Night Heron was hanging out fishing. He looked at me once and then went back to fishing. I took a few pictures as the current carried me by.
This snail appeared to be laying this eggs on the side of the Cyprus Tree. This was another early morning picture.

I saw a good bit of wild life along the river including some Wood Storks , Red Tailed Hawks and some Cattle Egrets. I also saw 2 snakes swimming across the river in the rain so I wasn't about to get out the camera.

I have lots more pictures and don't forget Black and White Wednesday

Canoe on the Santa Fe

2008-04-06T23:46:00.004-04:00

These are the pictures I took this weekend I pasted them into a movie. This is just a series of still shots I took and made into a movie. I will post some of the pictures individually in the next few days. Needless to say it rained a little bit this weekend. I had to bail water from the boat while it was still raining. Look for the pictures of the inside of the rubbermade bin. The first 2 times it started raining I just put the camera in. After that I started shutting it off. The camera was taking one picture every minute. I plan on doing more of this in the future. Remember to check back for updates.

getting Ready for the trip

2008-04-04T14:12:00.005-04:00

Ethan and I are getting ready for our trip on the Santa Fe River this weekend. This is a picture of our new dry bag. It has all of our sleeping stuff and clothes that we need to keep dry. Ethan was a little surprised at how big this pack was. We put it on him and he fell back and landed on the pack. I don't guess he will be carrying too much stuff. Fortunately we won't have to do much portaging with the canoe and all the stuff.

At the last minute Ethan decided to bail on the trip. The weather looked kind of iffy so maybe next time.

Camping with the Cubscouts

2008-03-30T20:29:00.004-04:00

Saturday we went to Gold Head Branch State park to camp with Pack 139. I am one of the Den leaders and my son is in the pack. We went for the 2 mile hike through the ravine. We picked up trash on the trail.(Very little of it to be found :-) After dinner we had smores. The boys had a great time running around and playing. Later that night, Ethan wakes up and tells me he doesn't feel good and that he needs to get out of the tent. I throw open my sleeping bag and I am in the process of unzipping the tent when he proceeds to throw-up into my sleeping bag. I manage to get him outside for round 2. I put my sleeping bag out side and use the extra blanket we have for the rest of the night.

The plan for Sunday was to pack up everything and then Ethan and I were going to drive to Juniper Springs and go down the run. The weather was looking worse as we packed. Finally we decided to drive back home. It actually started raining which made me feel better about bailing on the canoe trip. Ethan is feeling better and the spring isn't going anywhere...

Next weekend we are planning on going to the Santa Fe River and camping on the river. Stay tuned.

Vase is Finished

2008-03-26T14:38:00.002-04:00

The vase is finished and I have picture posted on my woodturning site Click on the word to see the actual vase . This is a new direction for my work. Look for more in the future. I am planning on making a piece for each river that I paddle....

Lady bugs

2008-03-25T00:45:00.006-04:00

This is a drawing of some lady bugs and a plan I have for making a vase. I did finish turning it and did the wood burning and even the air brushing today. I am going to let it dry for a little while and apply a lacquer finish. I will post some pictures of the finished piece later. I will say the finished piece looks much better then the drawing.

Black and White Wednesday revisit

2008-03-11T11:15:00.004-04:00

I wasn't able to get on the water this past weekend. The weather was bad, We got a new dog and my wife was out of town. So I went through some of my older pictures and found some that I liked. These were taken at Faver Dykes State Park. We went there in November and rented canoes, before I purchased my canoe. I wanted to see if the kids liked it. We had a nice few hours on the water and then a picnic lunch. This is a picture of my wife and kids. She is talking on her blackberry to her mother. The background is nice. We paddled on the river before this picture was taken and then had lunch in this part of the park. The kids were being silly.

My son said take a picture of my shoes. Since it was digital I obliged. This is one of photoshop elements, photo effects. It is remove color. I like how it kept the shoes green and the background fades to black and white. This was all about having a fun day at the park.

I hope you have enjoyed some of these pictures. I am sorry I didn't take any out on the water but I didn't want to take my camera. Until I got a dry bag.

Wacissa River Black and White Wednesday

2008-03-05T16:51:00.006-05:00

These are some pictures that I took in black and white last weekend on the Wacissa River. This Great Egret was hanging out. I like the breeding plumage.

These two turtles were sitting on a rock enjoying the sun. I like the little Cyprus Tree that is growing there. This was in the middle of the river. I can image in a few decades this will be a small island.
These moorhens were making a racket and chasing each other around. This was good for me since they came right by. I like the frozen water droplets.
I got a little close to this Great Egret and off he flew.
This is a sepia tone. I sometimes like to change things up a bit. This color conversion was done in photoshop.

Driving

2008-03-03T15:32:00.005-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I was driving home and noticed the shadow of my car and the shadow from my boat on the road. This picture was taken with my cell phone. I had my good camera in the back of the car and couldn't reach it. I am rather pleased with the quality of the picture.

Wacissa River 3-08

2008-03-02T20:42:00.006-05:00

Saturday afternoon I drove to Tallahassee I camped at the KOA Campground just off of I -10. It is a little close to the highway. The trucks woke me up several times during the night. Sunday Morning I drove over to the Wacissa River and launched my boat by 9am. There was not a drop of wind. It was really nice paddling. As always I am on my mission to bring home more trash then I take. I picked up 10 beer cans and 3 soda cans, and a styrafoam cup. I left my grabber thingy in the car so I couldn't get the cans and bottles I saw underwater. I will save those for next time. Enough about trash.

I spotted this Black Crowned Night Heron fishing, I sat and watched this one for almost an hour. I even moved the boat 3 times and then the wind took pity and pushed me over closer. I finally ended up about 20 feet away from this bird.

Dinner at last! Not only did he catch this fish but he stepped out where I could see him eat it.
The fish is still wiggling.
You can see the lump in the birds throat. He took a few drinks of water and did a little preening and then flew off. It was an hour well spent. I was amazed at how still this heron could stand. And with the layer of Duck weed he couldn't see under water.
I wanted to get some pictures of flying birds. This is pretty hard in practice. You are in a boat that is moving you don't usually see the birds till they are pretty close then you have to get the camera out and focused on the bird. There were several birds flying today so I had some practice. This is a Great Egret in flight. They can have a wing span up to 4 1/2 feet.
There were several airboats on the river today. Man those things are very loud! The fact that the people are wearing hearing protection should be a give away that they might be too loud. I did spot these Ibis's flying from the noise. When these birds have their wings folded up on the ground the black wing tips are hidden from view. Only in flight is the black visible.
This Great Heron has found a prize. I looks like some type of weed or grass to me. He flew off with it when he left.
This Red-Shouldered Hawk was making all kinds of noise. I could hear another on on the other side of the river and finally saw it fly off as well. They appeared to each be hunting their own sides of the river.
These 2 Moor Hens were chasing each other all over the place. And I thought the hawks were making a lot of noise. These 2 were carrying on like they own the river.
It was a very nice weekend. I camped out and paddled a very nice river. Picked up trash so I did my good deed for the day. And I got to see several different types of birds. Stay turned for Black and White Wednesday.

Black & White Wednesday

2008-02-27T09:43:00.005-05:00

When I first started out in photography I shot mostly black and white film. My Dad converted a shed in the back yard into a darkroom for me. I was able to develop my own photos. Now with the advent of digital I can with the press of a button switch from B&W to color. After being inspired by Peggy's B&W(scroll down on her pictures in February) photos I had to take some of my own. The pictures below were taken on Pellicer Creek. I went back into the marsh a ways since it was high tide. I was in about a foot of water here. This is looking back out into the creek.

This pictures was taken up another little offshoot. The water was a little deeper but the creek wasn't very wide. I paddled a little further up and then had to back the boat back a couple hundred yards till I was able to turn it around.
I spotted this house up in the trees. It looks like they have a very nice view of the creek. It is very wide at this point. My only concern would be in a hurricane this house wouldn't have much protection from rising water, and boing under that big oak tree.
This is one of those falling down docks you see everywhere. The metal roof has seen its share of wind. Sometimes I wonder how these docks are still standing.

I like the texture of the reeds along the marsh. These reeds were growing higher then I was able to see over even sitting in my canoe. I paddled along side of these for a few miles before deciding to take some pictures of this particular bunch.

I hope you have enjoyed this bunch of pictures. I will keep posting my adventures and I think I will stick with my Black & White Wednesday pictures.

Pellicer Creek

2008-02-24T22:27:00.007-05:00

I managed to take some pictures of me actually paddling today. The weather was beautiful in the mid 70's and sunny. There was some wind and I had to paddle upwind a little bit. Then I got on a long open straight of water with the wind at my back. I was just enjoying drifting along and 2 kts. Thinking the paddle back was going to be a long one. Then the sea-breeze came in and I had the wind at my back on the return trip, which was good because I was going up-current.

There were several ospreys out fishing today. This one flew overhead and then went on to fly out of range and catch a fish. I would have liked to been closer and been able to take pictures of the catch but no such luck. I did enjoy the show and saw 3 fish being carried away. One thing I have come to notice is they always seem to carry the fish facing forwards. My brother thinks this may be because they come up behind the fish while they are swimming and catch them that way. I know I will be on the look out for this in the future.

I came upon some Cormorants this one took off as soon as I got too close. I am always amazed how they can take flight from being in the water. A small running start on the water and off we go.

This egret came flying by and I was trying to get some pictures of flying birds today. I like how the feathers are somewhat translucent.
This is my wheres waldo picture. There are 2 Bald Eagles in this picture. I let myself drift over to the shore to get closer. This put me in a good position for the light but a bad position for seeing both birds. The female is on the branch above the male. These birds mate for life. They also return to the same nest year after year. I am glad they are making a comeback and I consider my self lucky each time I am able to spot even one. Today I got to see a breading pair.

I had a nice little paddle today and just generally enjoyed my paddle. Pelicer Creek is located south of St. Augustine. I launched my boat at Faver Dykes State park. Stay tuned I have more pictures including some Black and Whites I will post those mid week.

Part 2 Silver River

2008-02-21T01:11:00.007-05:00

Here are some more of the pictures from the last weekend. I figured the monkeys had their 15 minutes. Here is a close-up of a Cormorant. These birds actually swim underwater to catch fish. I love the color of their eyes. This one is looking right at me.

This is a young Heron. I like these birds. They can range from almost black to a pale blueish gray. This one was just hanging out watching me pass by.

This Great Blue Heron was stalking some fish in the water. The current was sweeping my by pretty quickly so I never saw him catch anything. But I did get to watch him stalking fish which is better then either flying away or just standing there.

Here is an Ibis(R) and a Heron(L) They were hanging out among these lilly pads. The Ibis was busily looking for something to eat while the heron was just watching.

It was a great day on the water. I took lots of pictures mostly of the monkeys but I managed to see many other things as well.

Monkeys

2008-02-17T23:19:00.005-05:00

Today I decided to go paddle the Silver River again. This time I wanted to paddle the whole thing (About 10 miles roundtrip 5 miles upstream, 2 kts. of current) and I was looking for the wild Rhesus Monkeys. The story goes in the 1930's the concessionaire who ran the Jungle cruise boat ride imported the monkeys and placed them on an island. Of course they swam off the island. Now their offspring live in the woods and the surrounding areas.Foot in my mouth.

Look closely this little one has his foot in his mouth.

This one was looking for something at the waters edge.

This little baby carried this piece of grass up the tree and then proceeded to eat the soft bottom part.

This male was watching to see if I was going to give any handouts. I was sorry to disappoint. I was however happy to take lots of pictures.

That concludes the monkey post. I have some more pictures and will post them tomorrow. I had a great paddle today I was on the river for about 7 hours today and actually got quite a bit of sun. I didn't remember to bring sunscreen. Have to add that to the checklist.

Okefenokee Swamp

2008-02-10T20:55:00.000-05:00

Today I went to the Okefenokee Wilderness Area. I went to the area just outside of Folkston, Georgia. I really like the few Ga. State parks I have been to. You have to sign out and then back in to let them know you are off the water. They always do a good job keeping the places nice. I usually pick up trash where ever I go. In fact I take a trash bag and my grabber thingy (Thanks Jeanette) Today I didn't come across one piece of trash. I paddled about 8 miles and nothing but good ole mother nature.

This first picture is of the canoe trail that runs parallel to the Suwannee Canal. It was pretty overgrown in some places but it was a nice little run. I paddled to Chesser Prairie.

This Heron waded up towards me while I was stopped for lunch. He came pretty close and walked all around. I was even able to move the canoe a few times so I could keep an eye on him. I took a lot of pictures. I paddled off after about 30 minutes of watching him.

While watching the Heron the wind blew me over into the lilly pads. These things float real good. Every now and then the wind would blow a lilly pad up on it side. It would sail around a bit and then lay back down and drift back in place.
Crocodiles, I saw an American Crocodile today. It was swimming along, I just drifted along with it for a while taking pictures. Then it turned around and swam back the other way. It was about 6 feet long.
This is a picture of me in my boat. I borrowed my brothers water proof camera. I made an extension to take some pictures from outside the boat. I just set the self timer and stuck the camera out and waited. I tried one in the water but it was too dark. I need to borrow it again next time I go to a spring.
It was a really nice day out in the swamp. The temps were in the low 70's (February) and there was some breeze. But there wasn't a cloud in the sky. And it has still been cool enough there were no biting insects.

The new seat (see yesterday post) position worked out well I was able to get the boat up to 4.6 mph and keeping it at 3 mph is fairly easy. At one point today I looked down at the GPS and I was drifting side ways at .6 mph while I was standing up taking pictures. (Don't tell my Mom)

Working on my boat

2008-02-09T17:55:00.000-05:00

Today I was able to install my new seat. I decided I needed to move it forward to balance out the boat a little better. We measured it several times before cutting. I wanted to make sure it was right. Measure twice cut once. I can't wait to try it out tomorrow.

I also spliced a loop into my bow line. I just couldn't bring myself to splice the line onto the boat in case I ever need to move the line or use it for something else. The splice tapers at the end and I think it is a good sized loop. Or course the first time I find a piling to loop it over I am sure the piling will be too big. It always happens that way.

Juniper Creek

2008-02-03T22:56:00.000-05:00

I have been talking to my Dad recently about going to Juniper Springs and canoeing down the run. So today I had the chance to go paddling and decided that would be a good place to go. I drove down and put in at the wayside park on Hwy. 19. I paddled for a couple hours upstream. And it only took me an hour to make it back downstream. The current was really running strong today. I talked to the canoe rental guy and he said the rain they had earlier in the week raised the water level and was making the current a little faster.

I have been here before but it was many, many years ago with my Grandfather. He would go every year and camp for 5 or 6 weeks and spend a lot of time on the water. We would go and camp and canoe with him. My Dad caught an 11 pound Bass in the lake one year.

There were 2 turtles on this log till I raised the camera to take a picture. As I was about to take the picture one of them slid off the log. I did catch the water splashing up in the air. I thought that was cool so that is why this picture was posted. The second turtle decided to stay on the log. He did keep a close eye on my however.

This picture is of the weeds( I hate calling it weeds because it is quite nice to look at) The weeds are very long and flow with the current. They sway back and forth and are very pleasing. The weather was in the upper 70's and blue sky with not too many clouds. You couldn't ask for a nicer February Day. Now I just have to decide where to paddle next weekend. I am open to suggestions, leave a comment.

This is another picture of the creek and also some clouds that were building up. They had that thunderstorm look but it wasn't quite warm enough. I think if it would have made it into the 80's we would of had a chance for afternoon thunderstorms. They did bring a little breeze which was nice. I continued my mission of picking up trash while on the water. I had my new grabber thing and took a trash bag. I managed to get several cans, a styrofoam cup and 2 shoes that didn't match. In all I got 11 pieces of trash. If people would just be a little more careful I might come back empty handed. (empty bag anyway) I can always dream:-)

Takin' out the trash

2008-02-02T14:57:00.000-05:00

Fishweir Creek

We went and met my friends Darren and Jeanette to go canoeing on the creek behind their house. We spent a nice day out on the water and picked up a lot of trash along the banks. We managed to pick up about a half a trash can full of stuff. The creek looked much better on the way back. Below is a picture of me and my kids. We had a nice day out on the water and helped the creek look better. We need to go at high tide next time so we can reach more of the trash. I will post more pictures of the creek.

Blue Springs, Orange City

2008-01-27T23:49:00.000-05:00

The Case of the Missing Canoe

I drove to Blue Springs today to go paddle. I carry my canoe down to the water and return back to the car to get the rest of my gear; Lifejacket, Paddle, Camera. Walk back to the launch area and my canoe is missing. My first thought was I went down the wrong boardwalk. Then I thought someone stole it. Then I got to thinking they rent canoes and someone must have taken it by accident. I walk back up the boardwalk and see one of the Rangers. I tell her my canoe is missing. She calls the law enforcement people that are at the park. A Dept. of Environmental Protection officer shows up.(Quickly) I explain what happened, he calls another officer. A female office shows up and tells me they have an officer in a boat and she will ask him to look for my canoe. She was very helpful and waited with me while the search was under way. My boat was found and the people were asked to return it to me. I didn't ask any names so I can't thank the people that helped. I know they were just doing their jobs but they acted in a very professional manner to everyone involved. (Thanks very Much)

Out on the Water

I see this Osprey flying right towards me I take a few pictures and then notice he is carrying a fish. Did I mention it was windy, he was flying pretty slow upwind. But he did have lunch.

I paddled over to the side of the river because I saw this Snowy Egret working his way along the shore. If you look closely you can see the minnow in his beak. I bet I saw him catch 20 of them in the time I was watching.

He walked right around the front of my boat. I was making sure to be extra still and not make any sudden movements. He just continued on with the business of catching lunch.

I did see some manatees while waiting for my boat to be returned. when I was on my way back I passed by this one pretty close. I was drifting with the wind so I didn't even have to paddle. I did take pictures as I went by. It looks like the manatee has it's mouth open.

It was a nice day out. The park was crowded but the manatees were out in big numbers. I had to actually ask people to move so I could carry my boat up the hill. It was a nice day the wind made it a little more challenging But it was quite a nice day.

Silver River 1/5/08 Part 1

2008-01-06T11:41:00.000-05:00

Today I paddled on the Silver River, which is not too far from Ocala. There is a bit of current but the water is crystal clear. It Is fed from Silver Springs. The Boat ramp is nice. They have 2 ramps for Motorboats and a ramp for canoes and kayaks. The canal to the river is bone straight and lined with plantlife. Then you turn into the Silver River and enter the current. I paddled 2.56 miles upstream which took about 3 hours. The trip back only took an hour.

This is an anhinga he cooperated and opened his wings to show off his wings with that great coloring.

I spotted this little gator hanging out on the side of the river. The current had pushed me over to the side. His head was about the width of my hand. Overall he was under 2 feet long. I set and watched him for a bit and he never moved.

Silver River 1/5/08 Part 2

2008-01-06T10:34:00.000-05:00

This turtle was just sitting on this log in such a weird position I had to take his picture. He was however in good sunlight.

This Great Blue Heron Just watched my go by. Usually when you get to close they fly off. This one was standing still like maybe I wouldn't see him. I took some pictures and eased off trying not to disturb him.
These two guys were hanging out on the same log. I was surprised to see them hanging out in such close proximity. I guess the turtle was more then a mouthful for the gator.

I was paddling downstream when I saw this Doe, She was watching me float by. As I paddled over to the shore I lost sight of her. However I did see this buck. He was standing there looking at me. I had to stand up in the canoe to take some pictures and then he walked behind the big tree and stood there for a while. Then he peeked at me to make sure I was still there. After that he walked off keeping the tree between us but he didn't seem to be in any hurry.

Very Windy

2008-01-01T23:34:00.000-05:00

I was going to try and go paddling today however the wind did not cooperate. It was blowing about 20 - 25 knots. I was going to go try one of the small creeks by my house, but after checking the weather I decided against it. I did drive down to the new boat ramp on Goodby's Creek to check out the facilities. It is a real nice place plenty of parking and two floating docks. The only disappointing thing is all the trash people have left on the dock. I guess they are too lazy to carry it up and put it in the trash cans. I want to slap people for doing things like that. I think this weekend I am going to try paddling here. I could hear a bunch of birds and even see 2 or 3 different kinds a ways down the creek.

Get a new canoe, wind will blow

Get a new sailboat, no wind

Happy New Year and fair winds for whatever type of boating you do

Wacissa River 12/29/07

2007-12-29T18:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I drove over to Tallahassee to see Tami. She was working in Tallahassee this week and was driving over to pick the kids up at the grandparents house in Jay Fl. We had our Date night in Tallahassee this week. Today I woke up an the weather was looking really bad. A front was pushing into the area. So I decided to go check out the river at the very least, since I was all the way over here. When I got to the river there were some people putting a canoe in. Of course this made me want to paddle as well. As soon as I got the boat in the water I see this deer swimming across the river. I hurry and paddle up towards it and take some pictures. The deer gets out of the water and stares at me for a minute and then moves off into the woods. I ended up seeing 2 deer today both of them swam across the river. The Second one was being chased by hunting dogs. When the dogs finally got to the river one of them jump in and swam across. The second dog decided it wasn't a good day for a swim and waited on the bank for a while before disappearing back into the woods.

After paddling for a short while I saw this turtle sitting on a log. He was just hanging out he watched me go by and stayed where he was.

This was a group of Ibis, there were 6 of them these 4 were pretty close together. They were standing on the bank. 2 of them were fishing around for something.

New Boat

2007-12-23T23:39:00.001-05:00

I have been saving my money for a few months now and finally bought a new boat. It is a Bell Canoe (Did I mention it is Kevlar) It is 15.5 Feet long and it only weighs 42 pounds! I can load on and off the car with ease. I took it out on the lake today to try it out. It paddles very nice. The boat seems to go through the water very well also. I tried out a kayak paddle and really liked that. I think a lot of my paddling will be solo. Since I plan on using the boat to take pictures. I am going to go paddle the Wacissa River next weekend. I hope to have some good pictures to show from my trip.

Todays trip started out by carrying the boat to the lake in the rain. I decided that I was going to try it out no matter what. I put the boat into the water and got in. It is pretty stable. Sitting in the back seat it lifts the bow up too much. I was able to kneel in the boat more towards the middle and it was much more balanced. I am planning on either adding another seat or turning the boat around and paddling from the other seat. I need to relocate the thwart to a different location. That is the easiest option. I would like to find a place to mount my GPS that I got for a Christmas present. I am checking into a thwart bag with some kind of pocket with a window. Tonight I made some webbing loops using Samantha's new sewing machine. The loops wrap around one of the supports under the hood and they barely stick out of the hood. I will use these to tie the front of the canoe to keep it stable while driving on the highway. I will post pictures and a report of how this works out next week. Now I am just waiting for the weekend.