The photo below shows part of the area where we saw the eagles. I was trying to catch one last shot of the eagle flying away, but he/she was much too fast for me. A dot in the sky is about all I got! But at least this picture shows how shallow this area of the lake is. When we've paddle here later in the summer, the water plants are so thick that you can't get through this part of the lake.
This is a view from the shallow area as well as an area with a few beaver lodges, out toward the main part of the lake.
We heard a few bull frogs and Brody was quite intrigued!
We stopped at the esker for a quick stretch of our legs. There isn't a lot of space to land your boat here, but it is possible. This is a pretty spot, with lake on each side, a rise of about 10 feet from the lake's surface, the ground covered with pine needles... I saw a group of pink ladies' slippers here.
Here is a close up of a few. They are such pretty and unusual flowers, don't you agree?
From the esker, here is the shallow area where we saw the eagles.
And here is the deeper part of that same area where there are beaver lodges.
And this is the path back down to the water from the esker's spine.
Dick is waiting for us in his kayak at the end of the path.
Once back in on the water, it was time to head back. We had planned for a short paddle our first trip of the season, and did not bring a lunch, just a snack and some water. The eagles were gone and our bellies were empty. So, we paddled back the way we had come. We couldn't stop talking about the eagles-- all the way back to the put-in.
Brody found a pair of tree swallows very interesting to watch as they flitted back and forth on the lake shore, swooping down, then perching on a dead tree. I wasn't able to get a good photo of them, but here's one of Brody as he watched them.
Francis Lake is a great place to paddle. Check out my earlier posts concerning Francis Lake for more photos and descriptions.
I'll leave you with one of my favorite Brody photos of our day on Francis Lake. If this one doesn't make you smile, nothing will!
Happy paddling!
Hey Ang. How does Brody like going paddling with you? I ask because I witnessed a troubling scene recently in which folks took a dog out paddling (thankfully the dog was wearing its own PFD) and the animal panicked. The dog kept trying to leap off the kayak bow and swim toward shore. It had its front paws in the water and was thrashing about, whimpering pitifully. The kayak finally made it back to shore and the grateful animal leaped onto the boat ramp and just stood there, shacking itself off. I guess some animals do better than others?
ReplyDeleteHi Mike,
ReplyDeleteBrody does great! There are a lot of factors which effect how well a dog does. Some of it could just be the dog's personality. But, we knew we wanted Brody to be a kayaker, so he began going with us when he was about 4 months old. Being small (he's now about 17 pounds, but probably weighed less than 10 when we started) he was inside the kayak-- not up above it. So, I think he felt pretty safe. I am guessing that what you witnessed was someone's first attempt at taking an adult dog out with them. Brody isn't crazy about swimming, but he loves to be with us, so he wants to be where ever we are. Also, before we ever went kayaking with Brody, we got him used to his pdf, then we put the kayaks on the lawn in our backyard and put him in it, got in it with him, etc. He is not allowed out on the bow-- I've seen little dogs doing that and it's cute, but I don't want to have to go fish him out of the water if he slips and falls. He can stand up with his feet on the bow, but not get all 4 paws up there. I feel bad for the people whose dog was panicking. A dog who is nervous or not good with new situations is a scared dog. Poor thing.