An Afternoon Paddle

On Saturday afternoon, I had a couple of hours to put the kayak on the water for the first time this year. I hurriedly drove to Pohick Bay ignoring the radio's constant bleating about serious thunderstorms approaching and our region being on a storm watch until 8:00pm. I put in about 3:30 into a low tide and paddled furiously through weed until I was out of earshot of jet skis and power boats that were screaming errantly around in circles but thankfully weren't allowed in the 'nature' area. I knew I had escaped that noisy society once the air was still and looking up I saw 4 ospreys meandering back and forth across the water looking for an easy dinner below. The water was alive with fish jumping and bubbles from the weed bursting on the surface. Mayflies and dragon flies skimmed back and forth and the only fishermen were a dozen or so egrets and blue herons patiently standing in the shallows waiting for a juicy fish to swim by.
I let the kayak drift to a halt and leaned back to have a drink of water and take some photos. Oh calamity! I had the camera but the card was back in my laptop at home. I refused to let this dampen my mood as I knew I'd be back here again on Tuesday with a friend who equally enjoyed this escape from civilization. I sat back, dunking my feet in the tepid water and just enjoyed the scenery for a while before resuming my paddle. A little further on I discovered a 'pathway' through the weeds that led to a tree overhanging the water. I slowly worked my way through and then again stopped to survey the surroundings. Immediately I found myself staring almost face to face with a green heron. He was sitting on a branch with his crested head craned forward to get a better look and we just checked eachother out for a few moments before he hopped further along the branch to get closer. How I wished I could teleport my memory card! I would've had a perfect picture. He just gawped while I talked to him; words I won't put down here, but my friends know how I talk to animals!

He hung around for about 10 minutes and we were joined by a couple of red-winged blackbirds who were scratching and 'clicking' amongst the weeds. Then a zebra swallowtail butterfly floated past my face and flitted through the branches. My little heron friend paid no attention but after a few more minutes he tired of my attention and hopped off towards the bank.

The blackbirds continued their hunt and after watching them and countless metallic blue dragonflies alighting on the water, I slowly turned around and headed back to the deeper water.
Thunder was rumbling now despite the sun still shining brightly but I could see deep black clouds looming in the distance. I headed back to the shore and once in the car, realized I'd been on the water for 2 1/2 hours. I managed to get back home only 10 minutes before the heavens opened and the winds tore around the buildings.
A great afternoon, and I will have my own pictures of the water to put up here after Tuesday.