Francis Lake 2013, Part Two

Time to finish describing our first paddle of the 2013 season on Francis Lake.  It was almost 2 weeks ago already.  The weather did not cooperate last weekend with rain and wind.  This week we have snow on our deck one morning and we've had frost 3 nights in a row!  It's supposed to warm up later this week.  I sure hope so!

I left off last time with us paddling out of the eastern lobe of the lake beyond the esker.  It was time to head back to the put-in/take out. On the way, I stopped for photos of course.

I found the contrast between the dead, dull tan/brown grasses and the vibrant green pine needles along with the blue sky intriguing enough for a quick shot as we passed by.

Here is Brody keeping an eye on his daddy who is too far ahead of us in Brody's opinion!

I took these next two photos using a setting on my camera which gives everything a bit of an unnatural color vibrancy.  It turned reds to orange, but deepened the trees reflections in the water in the photo of Brody.

On the photo below, it turned the dull browns and tans of the grasses on the bank a bit more interesting in color as well as making the sky and water even more vibrant than they already were.

As my husband paddled on, I changed the settings again for a sepia-toned one of him:

And then a black and white of the trees:

Pretty soon I had almost caught up with him and thought this image as he waited for me was worth capturing!  You'd think he was trying to hide, wouldn't you?

And.... there he is, hanging out, waiting for me to quit fiddling around with the camera so we could finish our paddle!

There was a breeze but the sun was quite strong.  Brody is panting a little as he surveys the lake looking for geese, ducks or maybe a loon or two:

Approaching the put-in/take-out, we see the loons diving.  Brody is quite aware of them diving and surfacing.  I got a few photos but they were far away or were diving under as I snapped a shot.  They also have learned how to avoid us humans (and canines!) in our boats.  They dive and swim in the opposite direction that we travel in.  The next time we look for them, they are way behind us.

We are always happy to see loons on the lakes we paddle.  Our feeling is that the lake must be pretty healthy if the loons are hanging out there.  Hopefully, there will be a baby loon later this summer.

I'll end with one more photo of Brody.  We're almost back to land and he knows it.  He enjoyed his first paddle of 2013 and so did we!

Happy Kayaking!  Get out and enjoy if you are able!

1st Paddle of 2013! Francis Lake, Part One

Happy Spring to all of my fellow Northern New York paddlers!  Our maple trees have just shed their leaf coverings and pale green leaves are emerging.  It’s been more than 2 weeks since all of our snow piles have melted—a big sign of improvement!  Saturday, May 4^th was a perfect day for our first paddle.

We chose Francis Lake--a favorite because it meets so many of our best paddling destination criteria:  quiet--no motors allowed (except 10 hp electric ones,) an easy place to put-in, the chance for plenty of wildlife viewing, and varied scenery. 

We arrived about 11:00, which is late for us, but it’s still pretty chilly in the mornings and we didn’t want to bundle up, so we left later than we usually do.  Because of the lateness of the morning, we did not expect to see a lot of wildlife.  Luckily, that was not the case!

The photo above shows the dock and the fairly easy put-in.  The DEC will add another section to the dock later when the water level drops.  Getting in from this low dock isn’t difficult, but there is also a small area on each side of the dock where you could scoot into the water without using the dock. 

This is the path to the water.  It is about 60 feet from the parking lot to the dock.

The black flies were just starting to come out here in the woods, and the mosquitos were already out in annoying numbers.  But, once on the water, there was a slight breeze most of the time and we did not even need bug repellent.

The next photo is near the put-in area.  I like these boulders and they made a great foreground for my photo of the water.

Once out on the water, Brody remembered exactly what his role was:

Leading the way.  We think he enjoys kayaking as much as we do.  Not to mention, he was probably looking for ducks!

Francis Lake may not look that "special" from the view below, but it has some great areas to explore that aren't seen as you look at the lake from the put-in.

To the right of the put-in, down past the few camps and houses along the north-western banks is a set back marked with boulders and a rock island.  In years past, we've seen a loon on a nest here.  It's a shallow area where ducks and geese maneuver through the reeds that will grow up later in the summer.  We by-passed this area today since families owning camps or houses near here were fishing on the banks close to this area.

Overhead we heard a hawk's cries and looked up to see some type of hawk, we believe a Northern harrier (Marsh hawk.)  Within seconds, two others had joined him and they glided high above the lake in lazy circles as we paddled along.

We set out for our favorite spots on the lake which are located on the eastern side.  There is an esker where we sometimes stop to stretch our legs, eat our lunch or just to explore. And there is a lobe of the lake that is separated from the rest of the lake. We did not get out on the esker during this paddle, but here is a photo of it.  We are approaching from the west side.

The entrance to the eastern lobe of the lake is here at the esker.  We love this area because we've seen lots of wildlife here.  It's shallow and is full of lily pads, water lilies and reeds in summer.  This time of year, with a higher water level, we were able to paddle a lot more of the area than at any other time, even last year when we also paddled here in May.  As we entered the shallow area, a bald eagle flew by, heading in the opposite direction!  We both saw it clearly, but only for a matter of a second or two.  Not enough time to get the camera up and focused. It was almost as exciting as last year when we saw 4 bald eagles, because we never "expect" to see a bald eagle while paddling.  That made our day, right then and there.  We weren't ready to go home yet, but we would have considered the trip well worth it from that moment on.

Brody kept his Doggles on for a while, seeming to appreciate them in the bright sun.

We've seen snapping turtles in this shallow area in the past, and there are definitely beaver in the area.  Although we did not see any swimming in the lake, we had some pretty convincing evidence (other than their lodges) of their existence near the lake:

My husband and I were amazed at the size of the tree they had been working on. We wondered if they had a plan for the tree or were just gnawing on it.  It will be interesting to return later in the year to see if they finished the job, or if mother nature's wind has given them some help.

The water levels at Francis were higher than last year around the same time.  For the first time ever, we were able to paddle a large area in this eastern lobe that is usually either too shallow or full of lily pads, reeds, etc.  Although we didn't "see" anything else while exploring this area, it was still fun, just knowing we were paddling along spots that we hadn't before.

Once we turned back, this is the view heading out of that eastern lobe with the esker on the left int the background-- and Brody, of course.  This time facing me for a change!  

The sky was such a brilliant blue I kept looking up at it all day long.  When these puffy clouds lined up top to bottom I had to take a shot:

 

Here is Brody still in his preferred position, leading the way as I paddle. He's keeping an eye on his daddy who is ahead of us.  He sure enjoys taking in the sights and I enjoy snapping these photos of him. I just love the blues, reds and yellows in this photo:

Well, I hope everyone has been able to get out on the water, even those of you like me, who haven't had much warmer weather until recently.  Enjoy it! And please join me for Part Two in a few days.

Happy Kayaking!

North Branch of the Moose River, Part Two

Time to finish up my description of our paddle in August on the north branch of the Moose River, paddling upstream from the North Street put-in.

As we paddled around the next bend, we came to a quiet area of the river.  The banks are quite high with the water level being lower.  The outside bend in the river at this spot had a bank of clay.  I was intrigued by the patterns made by the layers of clay.  There were gaps throughout the layers.

And near the water's edge, there were broken pieces of the earth.  I know it looks like shale or some other thin layered rock, but it is the consistency of clay that is beginning to dry out.  I tried to bring a piece home to see what it'd end up being like completely dry, but it crumbled in my kayak and all I ended up with was mud!

With another bend in the river, we came upon this hawk on a dead tree.

Below is my best photo out of six shots of the hawk.  Based on its call, I was guessing this bird is a northern harrier/marsh hawk, but after checking some of my other photos of the bird, I'm leaning towards red-tailed hawk.  Juveniles of almost any bird are difficult to identify, so if someone knows what this bird is, let me know!  I have limited knowledge and a Northeastern United States bird identification book to base my guess on so I am not 100% sure of this identification.

We saw beautiful scenes like this all day long:

There were a couple of beaver dams across the river at various spots.  Neither were a problem to negotiate.  Below, Brody watches as my husband paddles over the low end of a small dam.

We'd been paddling upstream for over 2 hours and decided it was time for lunch, even though it wasn't quite 11:30.  We found one of those sandy areas to pull our boats out and spread a towel for Brody to relax on:

This is how he became "Beach Dog" for the day.  He really enjoyed his time on the sand, soaking up the rays!

This view is looking back downstream from the "beach" where we ate our lunch.

And here is a close-up of a cardinal flower.

Brody, looking cute, as usual!

And, the photo which proves he really is "Beach Dog" at least on this day.

We talked with a number of paddlers who were going downstream from the Rondaxe Road put-in.  This is another popular put-in site for those being shuttled.  We asked how long they'd been on the water, hoping that maybe we were almost to the bridge.  Unfortunately, no one had a good idea, but guessed it had been close to an hour.  Because of this, we decided not to venture much further upstream.  We knew if it took them an hour to paddle downstream, it'd take us longer to reach the bridge paddling upstream.  So, we headed back the way we'd come after our nice, relaxing time on the beach.


The sky was so blue that day.  I kept glancing up at the brilliant white clouds and the many shades of green in the trees against that blue sky:

The pattern of these leaves against the sky also drew my attention:

Further downstream, I turned Brody around for a photo and he kept turning away as he usually does when I have the camera up to my face.  I tried to hold him still and scolded him a bit for not cooperating and this is the expression I got out of him-- sad, isn't he?

Along with a few beaver lodges, there were also places with fallen trees and branches which caught many items that were floating on the river's surface.  I saw this white feather (a duck's?) and wanted a shot of it among the branches.  I think the photo ended up looking a bit abstract with the different angles of the branches, the dried grasses and leaves, etc.

What do you see in this one?  We saw either a mouth, or a funny creature face, almost like what people do with their thumb and index finger to make a mouth and draw on eyes (and in this case, a nose too.)

 Brody actually faced me and I was able to get a nice photo of him... except he was mostly in the shadows...

Near the bank of clay on the way back downstream, we stopped so that I could photograph these plants.  I'm not sure what they are, but my husband named them "Adirondack Palm Trees."  I thought they reminded me of some Muppets character with crazy '80's hair.

I like this photograph because there are clouds in the upper left and lower right of the frame as well as dark green and light green in other parts of the photo, giving it an almost patchwork look.

Here are two hawks.  We are guessing that one is the patient one that allowed me to take a number of photos of him/her.

Here I am with Brody in a calm area as we paddle back to North Street.

Another typical scene along the Moose River's north branch:

Uh, oh-- I lied!  I have more dead tree photos-- we passed them on the way back and this time the sun was shining on them:

We were almost back to the North Street put-in when we met up with some more black ducks (or the same ones... who knows?)  Brody was naturally as interested this time as he had been earlier.  I was able to get this close-up once Brody got out of my line of sight!

Here he is, once more, guiding our way down the river, always on the look-out for all things interesting to his doggy eyes and ears.

Our paddle back was just as enjoyable as it was on the way upstream, maybe just a tad better since we were going with the current.  At each bend, we wondered what we'd see beyond.  It was a perfect day for a paddle.  We enjoyed it and so did Brody!

I'll leave you with one last photo of the north branch of the Moose River with some cloud reflections.

Thanks for reading and happy kayaking!