This Year's First Kayaking Trip

On Wednesday I took a vacation day to get out on the water. It was a hot sunny day, perfect to spend at Pohick Bay. I put into the lake quickly and as soon as I left the bank I felt every muscle in my body loosen. With my feet trailing in the cool water, I paddled slowly into the wilderness and left chaos behind. All sounds of civilization dwindled and all I could hear was birdsong and fish jumping out of the water.

 Withing 15 minutes I had seen two bald eagles flying above me and an immature sitting in a tree. Then as my eyes dropped back down, a beaver swam slowly by, his glistening nose and wet whiskers poking out with a beady eye watching me. 
The lily pads had not grown much, it was so early in the year, and I didn't have to take the usual winding route to my favorite spot. The tide was also out and some areas of the lake were very shallow but the water was crystal clear with hundreds of baby fish darting back and forth.

I got to my beach and pulled the boat up onto the shore. The sand was soft and warm with clear footprints from a recent visitor, a beaver? A small clump of bluebells gently bobbed next to me. I spread out my towel, flopped down to sunbath and read, but then decided that a snooze was in order first. It was paradise laying there listening to the fish jumping while feeling the breeze softly stroking my back. The sun was hot so every half hour or so, I would wade into the water and swim, watching the reflections bounce off the sand at the bottom of the creek.

Alas too soon, I had to think about slowly heading back. I'd had a couple of hours on the beach but had realized that the tide was coming in and my dry sand was fast becoming damp.

 I paddled back having to work a little harder against the tide but still managing not to exert myself too much.

I liked the way these bull rushes glistened with the sun behind them.

 An angry goose warned me away from the bank; I think nest building was in progress.

 I also saw this osprey sitting in a tree...

 ...and immediately afterwards, a blue heron. I eventually got back to the car, slowly loaded the kayak onto my roof and drove home. I had managed to get sunburned but wasn't really concerned. I felt so relaxed and didn't want the day to end, so called Steve to see if he fancied having a picnic in Bull Run Park. Within 2 hours and after a quick detour to Trader Joe's, we were sitting by the river with more bluebells, phones turned off and no cameras, watching the sun go down.

What an impeccable day.

Cherry Blossoms in D.C.

 Last Friday, I got up at 5:00am and drove down to D.C. to take some photos of the cherry blossoms. I was dismayed to find that all the roads around the tidal basin had been closed down for the festival, resulting in me and many others driving fruitlessly around trying to find a parking space. I was frustrated and angry that I'd driven down here and been unable to see one of our capital city's treasures. I eventually found a parking area for about 40 vehicles that hadn't been closed off down at Haine's Point but it was already full and cars were circling around hoping for someone to leave. From here it would also be about a good half mile to walk to see the blossoms, not something that the elderly or disabled would be enthusiastic about having to do.
I gave up after an hour of circling around, left D.C. and headed to work, fuming. It played on my mind over the weekend and not wanting to give up, I headed back down on Monday getting there before 6:30am. This time I headed straight for the Haines Point car park and walked back to the Tidal Basin.

 The blossoms were a little past their peak bloom but I wasn't daunted. Hey, I've got Photoshop. The water was as calm as a duck pond and not a single petal was moving. The last time I'd been down here, there had been strong bitter winds blowing the flowers down onto the choppy water.

The fallen blooms from this magnolia tree were moving constantly as grackles and robins foraged amongst them.

 The last photo here is from the Roosevelt memorial entrance. I couldn't allow myself to go further than this waterfall or I would've been another hour at least with my camera. Happy with the images I'd captured, I headed back towards the car. The city was starting to bustle and as I headed out on Rte 66 towards work, I felt pleased that I had returned and not let another year pass by without managing to see these beautiful trees.

A Birthday Party

On Sunday we headed back up to Sterling for Max, Heather & Aston's birthday party. It was a beautiful warm and sunny day with blossom trees sprinkling their petals across lawns, honey bees joined butterflies flitting or fluttering and green shiny buds poking out from tree branches and freshly mulched flower beds.
Heather and Ed brought their new baby, Kylie, Luke and Max tore around full of excited anticipation about opening presents while Jim hobbled about slowly, trying to keep his leg out of harm's way.

The new parents. No special editing on any of these photos. They are as I took them; I wanted everyone to be shown as themselves.

Debbie, Kiesha and Peyton.

Tom, Steve and Bobby.

Some of the faces made by Max as he opened his presents.

'Bits' and Peggy, Lou, and Grandpa Jim with Kylie.

Aston and Max enjoying their birthday cake.

The proud parents with their daughter. The afternoon flew by and as most of the guests had departed, Debbie and I decided to have a quick game of badminton on the grass. This didn't last too long as Debbie fell into the bushes, catching her hair on the fence and her necklace on the shrubbery. Nice one Deb! 

The 3rd Saturday with Luke & Max

I arrived at Debbie's house bright and early again, and in time to sadly see Man Utd get beaten by Chelsea, but Jim was also a Man U supporter so we could console each other.
I caught Aston by surprise in the kitchen. Chocolate milkshake for breakfast? 

 

So then the day continued with Wii and Square Bob Sponge Pants, which I love. I could've watched that all day. And we did for a lot of the morning with games played intermittently. But after our lunch of squashed bologne sandwiches, we went outside to see Jim off. Scott had come round to take him out for lunch and a spot of shopping. I watched with great interest at how Jim would negotiate his leg into the car with a brace from thigh to ankle keeping it straight.

Of course my camera was ready but I could hardly keep it still as I was laughing so hard watching Jim's efforts. Scott thought I was going to pass out. But after a while Jim's sheer determination and the prospect of some time away from the house helped him get his leg into the car. Wished I could've seen him getting out at the other end.

The boys were happy to be outside playing since it was so warm, and once Jim & Scott returned, we all sat on the deck enjoying the warm rays.

  We had a constant visitor while we were there. This large bumble bee would hover just above us and then directly in front of each of us as though he was getting a good look. He showed no fear and after a while, he became part of the group.

Later, we went out to the front of the house where Luke, Max and Peyton could speed up and down the road on their vehicles while making halfhearted efforts to run Jim and I over.

Aston turned up from a shopping trip having purchased a set of tools for work. Max took this photo.

 The day wrapped up when Debbie arrived home in her new Taurus and the boys decided to climb into the boot trunk for a photo. 

 Since I would be returning the next day for Max and Aston's birthday party, I was allowed to take home my favorite Transformer, Optimus Prime, for the night. He spoke several phrases and fired weapons while his eyes flashed. Very cool. 

A Gloomy Exploration

Steve and I had a late start out on Sunday. It was a rainy day and just the two of us went exploring to a regular haunt for me but a new one for Steve. For most of the car journey there it rained, and we decided to have a beer before we went in, to put us in the mood.
As we headed down the path to the hospital, the rain clouds floated elsewhere to leave us with dark skies and a reluctant sun.

We resurrected the old basketball from its hiding place and Steve shot a couple of hoops, then it was down to some serious exploring. This place never fails to enthrall me and each time I visit I see something new to photograph.

 We entered this building which has always given me the creeps and started heading down the hallway checking the rooms. I would've liked to move a little quicker but kept my mouth zipped as I didn't want to rush Steve. He didn't find the place at all uncomfortable, despite the door continuously banging behind us. At the end of the corridor, 7 or 8 wide steps led down to a basement. I informed Steve that I would wait but once he said he'd be going down, I followed, not wanting to be left alone. Immediately around the corner was a room with an old TV so we set up our tripods. We were taking photos when we heard what sounded like footsteps at the top of the steps. We froze and I immediately wanted to giggle, I have no idea why. We heard more noises and stood silent waiting for someone to walk around the corner. After several long minutes, Steve decided we should continue as though nothing had happened, but I was reluctant to leave it there. I turned on my flashlight and slammed up the stairs, to find nothing. Within seconds I had looked in all 4 nearby rooms and corridors but there was nobody, not even a mouse. That was creepy and I wanted out.  Those noises were too loud to be nothing. I was glad to get into the fresh air.
I was a little jittery after that and was not happy when we entered the high security unit. Once more, I kept quiet and breathed a sigh of relief when we were again outside. I was pretty much done with creepy buildings by this time and had to vocalize that, insisting we kept to more pleasant buildings for the remainder of our visit.

So the next hour or so was spent laying on the grass and photographing pretty gates and spring flowers. What joy! I was actually pleased to get these shots as we never know if this place will be suddenly torn down and since forsythia is only in bloom for 2 or 3 weeks, it was nice to have some shots of the hospital with this pretty shrub.

We checked out the screen print shop where we joined by another explorer. We all spent a few quiet minutes staging shots and clicking shutters until he left with a friendly farewell.

At the perimeter of the grounds, there is a building which I was sure I'd never been in before. We entered to find that it was union offices where rooms held desks, paperwork, ornaments and even a chalkboard with a wonderful collection of colored chalk. 

We left here as dusk was falling. Meandering through the buildings, I would have given anything if someone could have just pulled up in a car and driven me out of there. I had not manged to shake off my jitters and with the dark sky closing in and gloomy lights casting shadows as we passed, I was so ready to be out of there. 

As we drove home, the rain started falling again and darkness fell quickly. I was very pleased when a hour later, we were sitting in a pub with a beer and a hot dinner.