Sunday 7 July 2019

Another canoodle!

At my age, I cannot just jump in the canoe and go for hours. I'm working myself up to longer canoe rides. The other trick, is knowing if the lake is suitable for a paddle on my own. I cannot tell if it's calm or windy. I lucked out on Thursday morning, July 4th.


Before I feature my canoe ride, I'll talk about my news.
Firstly, we're having a planned power outage as they replace a hydro poles in Rideau Lakes. It'll be out from 7 a.m. to noon.

I went to the optometrist and find I have a cataract growing. Surgery TBD. JB took me out for a drink at the pub while I digested the news. Wait times in Smiths Falls are two years. The optometrist knows another doctor in Pembroke, who has a much shorter wait time. My client waited 9 months for her surgery in Brockville. We're all falling apart!

To add insult to injury, I tried to fix the stove door, and dropped the handle on my foot.




Back to my lovely canoe ride...
This is where I park, thank to our neighbours.


As soon as I approached the bay, a heron flew off.

Launching myself, off I went.


The lake is infested with invasive zebra mussels. They get under your feet, and prevent the natural clams from growing. They were brought in by American boats that weren't cleaned.

It's such a shame. I was trying to grab a photo of the zebras, but ended up with some lovely artsy shots!


BLue green algae in the heat. This lake is only 60' deep at the deepest part.


A peaceful scene.


Off, in the distance, a loon.








It wasn't a long canoe ride, and my old GPS won't upload maps anymore, but I know how far I went! The red is my most recent trip.

9 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

I love the loon and heron. The canoe trip looks like fun! It is sad you have to wait so long for the eye surgery. Enjoy your day and new week!

DUTA said...

Kudos to you for your canoe ride!
As for cataract, it seems to be a common, and quite successful done procedure. Good Luck with it!

Susan Zarzycki said...

I enjoy your posts for several reasons, two of them being I love critters and nature and the other being my brother and sister in law live in Smith Falls. I only visited them once for a couple of days and we spent them in Ottawa. Your everyday adventures give me a peek of the local in which they live. Enjoy your day!

Red said...

Well good that you didn't tip the canoe and fall in. By the way can you swim?

Jenn Jilks said...

I can swim, Red! I was on the swim team in high school: back stroke, 200m. Plus, I wear a lifejacket.

Nancy J said...

Good news you were a life jacket, and can swim.Beautiful reflections as you paddle along.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
the zebra mussels are everywhere - rivers here and in OZ are having this issue. Love the loon! YAM xx

Olga said...

Your pictures are wonderful.
I would not attempt a canoe on my own. I am not even crazy about them if I am with an experienced paddler. I do love a kayak though. I feel snug so I feel safer. At some level I know that is an illusion, but . . .

William Kendall said...

The loon is such a welcome sight to see.