SURPRISES ON THE LOWER LAKE

The wind was up and I needed to run on the bay areas of the lower lake.  The lake would be covered with white caps and roller waves.  I'll leave the loaner boat at home and take the big bay boat today.  It's a Cadillac    I also thought it would be a useless time for any photography.  I was pleasantly surprised as the afternoon wore on.

Not every day can start perfectly.  I got the trailer and boat back from the welder four days ago and it sat in the driveway ever since.  I was using a loaner boat on the lake.  I decided to hitch up the bay boat an ride in relative comfort today.  I pulled it out of the parking area and noticed a flat tire.  What luck!  The last old tire on the trailer that was worn on the inside was flat.  I put the spare on an drove to get a new tire installed.  

It felt good to be on the lake in this boat.  The wind was howling and white caps covered the lake.  This would be a rough afternoon.

The water wasn't too bad at the ramp area and looking downstream.  The wind blew harder as the day progressed.

I was really looking forward to being out here today.  I have been turning wrenches on the engine on the loaner boat and I was beginning to think I had a new position with the agency as a mechanic.  The sky was blue and the sun was shining bright.  Everything was in place for a great day, except for the wind.
I ran onto three fishing boats almost immediately and thought I might be really busy with anglers today for a change.  They were the only fishermen I saw the whole shift.

I stayed close to the shoreline as the water was too rough out on the main body of the lake and anglers would be in the coves, creeks and on the shorelines in wind like this. The binoculars came to my eyes and I scanned the lake for boats.  Nothing.  Then I glassed the shoreline for critters.

The above shot is of a great blue heron entering the water head first.  He was just flying along an dove straight down head first into the drink.  These are wading birds and do not have webs between their toes nor are they supposed to act this way.  Evidently they do though.  

A loon floats by.  He is in his winter plumage.   He's the last bird I expected to see out here today.

 Gulls have been moving onto the lake in force over last month.  These fast airborne perfectionists are a very interesting bird to watch.  They are like jets sometimes and like helicopters at others.

The gull above is a ring billed gull.  The two floating below are bonaparte's gulls.  Both are common to these waters.  Interesting to note that I rarely see them flocking together.  They seem to always "buddy up" with their own species.

I picked up a squirrel in the binoculars.  I wouldn't have veered over so close to the shore for a squirrel but, this squirrel had some odd coloration.

Gray squirrels don't have that white marking.  This squirrel is an oddity.  That white contrasted against his dark gray hair will mark him for predators.  He better keep one eye on the sky.

Its amazing what I find with those binoculars.  I could have never seen this little guy with the white design on him without the eyes of the binoculars.
Yep - never know what's coming up next.

I stepped around the tower of the boat to scan the lake once more for fishermen and looked up into the trees.  There looking back was a bald eagle.  I couldn't believe it.  He was staring down at me intently.

These bald eagles always select trees that are highly back lighted.  I adjusted the metering of the camera quickly and allowed my knees to flex with the rolling of the boat as it rocked with the wave action.  I don't know how I successfully got the shots I did.  Just horrible photographic conditions.  I'm thankful I got what I did.  Then I saw the second eagle in the deeper foliage.  This was a mated pair.

 

   These eagles were really watching me closely.  I wish I could see the second one better but the leaves were thick where it was.  This boat is rocking like crazy and I was really doubting these shots would turn out.  

 Then they were gone.

 I'm glad I brought my camera today.  I almost didn't.

The day went along without incident.  I didn't run into even one fisherman after the first three at the start of the shift.  This rough water has be beat up and I'm sure that fishermen stayed home because of the rough water.  Seven hours is a long time to ride waves.
I'm taking the canoe to Indian Boundary or back up to Beech Creek very shortly.  The weather is great for canoeing.  Love it.  Hope you liked this post.  I didn't think I would have enough photo's to have one.   It's 10 PM and I'm really tired.  Happy and Chestnut are warming up the bed and I can't wait to jump in.  Catch ya later. 

JUST PRACTICING!

I want out there!!

THE FLOCKING

The wind whips the water into rollers and white caps as it moves with haste across the surface of the lake.  Yet, another audible wind can be heard getting closer and closer.

They rose upward out of the tree tops as if following one particular leader.  They moved as one.

Then, as one, they hovered in their great cloud as if undecided which way to go.

The birds then moved closer together in their darkening cloud making a dense formation.

The formation shifted and swayed - undulated left and right - up and down presenting a ballet spectacle.

 The choreography is beautiful to watch and the performance is perfection.

Then, as if some silent command were given - they begin to disband and the formation spreads over a wide area until the impression of unified movement is removed.

The play is ended - the curtain falls and the performers leave the stage and another performance presented by Mother Nature is over.   The theater is closed.

ON THE PORCH

Mareid Nesbit of “Celtic Woman” fame is playing an exciting violin solo called Grainuaile’s Dance.  The CD volume is turned down low so I can think.  With a cup of coffee in hand I step out onto the porch with my girls.  The rockers have been taken inside and there is no furniture to sit on but, the porch has a great railing just the right height to half sit upon.  A small amount of light shines down from a window on the second story onto the yard area just in front of the porch.   A very gentle rain is falling and the temperature, though chilly, isn’t intolerable.   I’m thinking how much I like Celtic music.  Its rhythms are like no other music’s and the ladies of Celtic Woman have voices of perfection.  Chestnut hound casually walks across the porch and sits down on the edge of the top step with her feet on the next step down.  She reminds me of how a little kid might sit there.  Dear Shade is at my feet where she always is.  She is my shadow at all times when we are together.  Happy?  Well, Happy is running back toward the porch from the yard with a florescent green, squeaky tennis ball in her mouth.  Oh, that sound – squeak, squeak constantly!  She’s such a sweet little girl.  It wasn’t easy but I got the ball away from her – just until we went back inside later.

It’s quiet out here.  There isn’t a sound except for the gentle rain falling through the trees.  There are a lot of big oak trees surrounding this house offering many, many leaves for the rain to fall upon and pat against.  Sometimes at night I can think myself into being somewhere else – someplace in a forest where no one exists but my girls and me.  And – I miss “him”   tonight.  My sweet boy didn’t have the chance to share our final home together.  How disappointing and sad!  Carelessness on my part erased him from my life in an instant and I will forever beg his forgiveness.

I can barely see the roof of the house that sits down over the hill 600 feet away to the front of us.  I planted Thalusia Pines along the edge of my drive with the expectation that they would block the view of that roof.  They have grown twice their height since I planted them last July and they are performing their duty well.  The forsythias from Scona reside in front of the pines where I can see them when they bloom this Fall.  This place is indeed pretty and it’s far enough away from the chaos to provide solitude.

A cold nose bumps against the back of my hand that is resting upon my knee.  Clear, bright eyes, the whites predominant, stare up at my face – the eyes surrounded by the softest black hair and fir.  I lay my hand on the top of her head and the white disappears.  How sweet is she?!  With a deep breath and a sigh I ask myself out loud, “what are you doing here?”   It’s too deep to go there.  But, thoughts are pouring through my head tonight for some reason.  Were all the years and experiences designed to lead me down a path through life that would deposit me here, on this spot?  Maybe, but I doubt it.  Then again - maybe.  Life has been some picnic for sure.  The fruit of that picnic has been mostly sweet with a touch of bitter lemon in the later years.   I am happier now than I’ve ever been.  Maybe I feel that way because it actually is “now” and the sensations are immediate and fresh.  I used to say my years as a young man on the farm were the happiest.  Those were indeed good times.  I guess the difference between then and now is that I’ve been through three quarters of living with the emphasis being placed on success and money, work and social acceptance.  Priorities are very different during this last quarter of existence.  Money, social standing, fancy cars and status have been replaced by creativity, appreciation of the wild places and the inhabitants who dwell there.  The acquirement of a dream job that places me squarely in the middle of “out there” helps too.  Instead of focusing on gaining wealth I concentrate on ways to get into the wilderness places to capture what I see in a camera and present it in a creative, pleasurable way that will interest folks who read and view my writings and pictures.  I am passionate about the wild places, as you already know.

“There you go again, Shade.  You’re always licking my hand.  It’s irritating at times but, I’ll never try to stop you because it shows how you feel about me.”  Sweet girl!

The sky is dark and the rain continues to fall.  I turned the collar of my jacket up against my neck.  A chill caused me to hunch my shoulders and shiver.  All I need to do is turn and go inside but I’m reluctant to leave the scene and break the magic of this evening moment.  I guess it’s time though.  I stood up and looked once more toward the dark sky – then down at the girls gathered around my feet, waiting in anticipation of some order or direction from me.  I opened the front door and they all slowly filed inside.  I stopped, turned and looked up at the sky once more and said, “miss ya Douglas”, stepped across the threshold and pulled the door shut.

QUICK MOVIES

I figured out how to upload movies and posts from Windows Live Essentials.  I did a test post with photos to this blog and deleted it.  Now, I’ll try movies.  Movies upload horribly slow to the Blogger.com blog and it’s impossible for me to do so.  We’ll see how Live Essentials does.  If this works – what follows are some simple little clips of my boat outings.  It looks like they will go to U Tube also.  Not sure.

Gheenoe Ride on the French Broad River

Fast water at the Rankin flood plain in the state boat (22 ft)

These take hours to upload.  Some of them almost complete and then fail at the last minute.  This is a trial at posting videos and I’m not too upset over the lengthy time it takes.  Again, these are posted to Windows Live Writer and transferred to my blog.  I’ll play around with the program.  Winter’s going to be here awhile and it’s a good project.  I signed up to Hughes.net Generation IV internet.  That will be installed next week.  The results should be like cable or almost like cable, if I believe Hughes.net.  We’ll see about that too.

A NICE, PEACEFUL EVENING

I haven't had the big 22 foot state boat all month due to bad axles on its trailer.  Actually the axles were too light for the weight of the boat.  Heavy over sized axles were installed and some welds were replaced on the framework.  Driving over to Knoxville from here killed the day and I didn't get on the lake.  This has been a rough month trying to get on the lake for job purposes.  The big boat's trailer has been in the shop most of the month, I had to drive to Nashville to exchange my old truck for the new one you see above and I had to retrieve the jon boat from our work center at Buffalo Springs to use while my boat was out of order.  The loaner boat needed the engine worked on so that took another couple days.  I got it working great accept if I take my hands off the steering wheel at 30 miles per hour it will switch directions in a heart beat and head the other way tossing me out into the lake to die instantly.  I gotta work on that next week as I'll be using that boat on newly assigned water.

The property here at home is starting to resemble a TWRA sub station or something.  I like it.  Green is my favorite color.  I stood on the porch with the dogs while drinking a coffee and surveyed the yard.  Yep - there's more government equipment parked around than equipment that I personally own.  Who'd a thunk it?  I like it.  This is a fantastic agency to work for and i'm proud to wear the TWRA emblem.  I like what they stand for and I like the efforts the agency expends for the betterment of wild things and wild places.  I could use a TWRA lawn mower.  I wonder.

The boat below will be used for shallow water.  I'll be picking up some new water to work on this summer and it's river water.   Rivers are interesting to run on.  Actually its the Holston River where Beech Creek flows into it.  Rough assignment.  This little green jon boat is built like an anvil.  It was made in the late seventies and has a motor that is, shall we say, a bit too big for the boat.  I like it.  That old hulk will get up and go.

I'm not one to sit around here so I hitched up the Gheenoe and headed for the river end of Douglas Lake tonight.  I had no purpose in mind.  I just wanted to be on the water.  The late afternoon was very warm and the water smooth as silk.  What a pretty time to be cruising on the lake.  I skimmed close to the shoreline looking for whatever.

The water depth at the French Broad flood plain is 2.5 to 3 feet deep.  Its getting too shallow to run on with the bay boat.  The Gheenoe is fine but I get nervous when I see two feet show on the depth finder.  In another week I'll probably not risk coming back up here until spring when the water will be permitted to rise again.  Its a pretty evening though.

The sun is dropping fast and I turned it around and eased back down the lake toward the boat ramp.  The light was hardly bright enough to be useful for any photography endeavors.  I knew where I'd see some deer and there was just enough light for a few shots if they were there.  I know all the hang outs for critters on the lake.  As suspected - a couple deer were there in the secret cove.  Mom and junior were just lounging around.

That's a pretty mom for sure.   Junior is one of the cutest kids I've ever seen.

I didn't know if these pictures would come out or not it's so dark out.  Not bad I'd say.

We don't work for National Geographic here, ya know.

 Mighty sweet!
The weather is to turn bad starting tomorrow.  Temperatures are to drop and rain move in so I'm not sure which way to head or what to get into.  I'm not a sitter so I'll be into something.  If it's bad,  the boats will remain home and I guess the motorcycle will too.  I have three days off in a row too.  Figures!  Maybe I'll grind on the new dentures with a dremel and a sanding disk.   I appreciate you all looking in.  Thank you.