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Summer is on the way! Time to get wet! Trips this month: 9
5/1-2/06
After my excursion last week we decided to make our first kayak campout of the year in the same location. Last weekend I purchased a lightweight tent so that we could add tent camping to our usual Jungle Hammocks and not be limited in those few areas where trees are scarce. We decided to try it out on this trip even though there are plenty of trees on the Suwannee to hang hammocks from. We got in the water at the Cone Bridge ramp at 2:30 pm and headed north. We were both marveling at the vegetation and limestone formations and Hope commented that one overhang would make a good place to "hide from Nazgul". A few seconds later she hollered at me and said "you're gonna kill me - we've got to go back - I left my wedding ring lying on the ramp!" Now, we hadn't gone very far and we didn't have very far to go to get where I was planning on camping so it wasn't that big a deal to go back but those of you who are familiar with Hope's "Saga of the Rings" will understand why I took off downstream in spite of her protestations that she would be the one to go back. I did not want her to see my face or hear my murmurings about why she would take her ring off and lay it on the boat ramp in the first place.
Anyway - I reached the ramp in less than 10 minutes only to see the two rough looking locals who were fishing when we set out pack up and leave almost as soon as I came back in view. I hopped out and searched the ramp to no avail and shrugged my shoulders as Hope pulled up. She got out to look as I walked up toward the two guys and asked if they had seen "a really cheap looking wedding ring laying about." They hadn't but I was sure that they had found it and were taking it to the nearest Pawn Shop to get beer money but I wasn't going to confront them over an inexpensive ring. I walked back to the ramp where Hope was standing dejectedly pulling off her paddling gloves. I heard a chink and looked down to see a gold ring laying on the concrete and heard Hope say - "It was in my glove the entire time!" Sooooo.....we headed back north, chuckling about the whole thing. Hope tried to be mad at me for telling the fishermen that the ring was "cheap" but I told her that I wasn't going to ask them if they saw a ring worth $10,000 - besides - it is a "really cheap ring" and the reason why is because it's not the first to meet a similar fate in our nearly 28 years of marriage. We had fun talking about the whole "Lord of the Rings" thing that had alerted her to the fact that she wasn't wearing the ring. If the Nazgul came to Hopey the Hobbit looking for the "Ring of Power" she could just tell them she lost it.
Anyway - we finally made it to the place where the river goes through a tight series of turns with a limestone shelf on one side and an area where the river flows through at higher water levels on the other. In this second area on the north bank the river has deposited a huge amount of sand that is flat and level and I thought this looked like a great spot to pitch our tent. After an hour or so we had our camp set up and firewood gathered so it was time to pop a couple of beers and start cooking supper. We sat around for the next several hours listening to the incredible quiet punctuated by the occasional Red Shouldered Hawk call or angry squirrel chattering away at the intruders. We sat there stoking the fire and waited for the stars to appear and finally went to bed about 10. We were both stunned by how hard the sand was and it was obvious that the thin foam pads we use in our Hammocks were totally inadequate for use in a tent. We both spent a very restless and uncomfortable night but we survived. An owl visited us at one point and sat very near overhead hooting. I finally got up near five am and sat beneath the stars for an hour or so before stoking the fire and making coffee. I could hear a rooster crowing, a dog barking and at one point a donkey braying. I think he was telling the rooster to shut up.
We spent a relaxing morning sitting around the fire drinking coffee eating oatmeal and reading. Before leaving we sat at the water's edge and I took a dip in the chilly waters. Packing up was a pain as it always is but once we got in the water we had a gentle and easy ride back to the ramp. We may have to experiment with different kinds of foam pads if we are ever going to tent camp again. It made me feel a lot better about the wisdom of purchasing the jungle hammocks seven years ago. They have been a great investment. On a positive note - I was sure that when I got up in the morning my back, my SI joint or my shoulders would have me crippled in pain but amazingly I felt fine - numb perhaps, but fine. Not bad for someone who turns 49 in a few weeks!
See the pictures
from this trip day one
5/7/06
My new work schedule gives me a wonderful one day weekend - what fun! Well, I figured that I may as well spend part of it on the water and by 7:30 I was heading out on the outgoing tide on Pumpkin Hill. After passing the first bend I spotted a Great Blue in the grass and I was thinking about gliding over to check him out but instead he flew up into a pine tree directly above me. I spent some time shooting him while he groomed himself in the intense morning sun. I paused at the next point and shot another Great Blue and a Black Crowned Night Heron before continuing on to the point. No one was there which due to the breezy conditions so I beached my boat and ate my yogurt. I headed back stopping to explore one of the streams that runs along Black Hammock. As I got close to the land a Raccoon crossed the stream in front of me. I made the rest of the trip against a strong outgoing current. See the pictures from this trip
5/10/06
I knew that it had been a while since I had been in my favorite place - Hannah Mills but I was shocked when I looked at my journal and found that it had been nearly two months. That is by far the longest stretch between visits so today the tides and weather cooperated and with no plans for supper I grabbed some Wendy's, iced my beer and headed for the put-in. There was a break in the blessed rain we have received this week but there was a stiff sea breeze coming in and the incoming tide was rushing in as strong as I have seen it in the Mills. I headed toward the Kingfish Marina so that the current on the ICW could push me toward my intended destination - the Manatee Zone Sign Osprey family. I passed little along the way - a Green Heron and a female Red Breasted Merganser along with the usual Great Egrets and soon I was at the waterway. A male Osprey was sitting on one of the old marina pilings enjoying a small fish and he flew off as I passed. I watched him fly directly over to the Manatee sign and land while his mate sat there waiting. I turned into the ICW and let the swift current carry me toward the pair. A large group of Black Bellied Plovers were gathered on the shell banks along with some Turnstones and Sandpipers. As I got close to the Ospreys I watched and listened carefully for signs of chicks but could detect nothing. The pair eyed me carefully and chirped occasionally but didn't seem too upset. I pulled over to the bank nearby and sat there watching them while I ate my supper. After a minute or so the male took his fish over to the island directly east and sat in a tree eating it while the female stood in the nest. Several minutes later he returned with the same fish and landed next to her. As I watched with my binoculars I could see the female was ripping into a fish but instead of eating it she was bending down into the nest and delicately depositing it into some unseen openings. Obviously my initial impressions were wrong and there were at least two chicks - too small to be seen - in the nest receiving her offerings. When I was ready to depart I made another pass by their nest which prompted the male to take off and circle me once before returning to the nest. I could see that there was an old fish carcass discarded outside the nest so I'm sure it is getting pretty ripe in there by now. I headed across to the other bank and made my way toward Shad Creek and I could see as I approached that the nest in the tall channel tower there was once again occupied by an Osprey so I am hoping that last year's tragedy will not reoccur. I checked to see that there was no change in the barge situation at our old campsite and left determined to call someone about it. I let the current carry me north, passing a Raccoon on the bank and then headed back across where I re-entered the marsh and headed home. As I passed the grove of trees next to my put-in I could hear the "Wok!" of Night Herons but saw none. The Peacock at White Shell Fish Camp was in full voice. See the pictures from this trip
5/12/06
Well, this has to go down as one of the absolute strangest trips ever! More on that later. I took advantage of another early morning trip to the Mayo Clinic to paddle in Guana Lake and was in the water on a cool breezy morning at 9:30. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the water levels were back up to where they were when I was here last November and it made paddling a lot more pleasant.
A Bittern crossed my path almost immediately after setting out and so I stopped to shoot him while he hid behind some grass. The higher water levels meant that the density of bird life was somewhat diminished as was the gator density - something I was sort of glad for. As soon as I turned into the main channel and started heading north I began to see and hear the Black Necked Stilts although the islands that they had chosen to nest on were now mostly covered by water. They were being quite noisy, however, and it was soon apparent why - almost every island contained a couple of very tiny and very fuzzy new residents who were wandering through the stubble of grass. The adults kept up an almost constant cacophony of "Kee Kee Kee" and occasionally the male would fly in a circle above me and usually wind up on the opposite bank where he would call to make sure that I paid attention to him and not his fuzzy fledges.
I progressed a little further up and began to see the Roseate Spoonbills that I had been told were up here. There were several large groups and I probably wound up seeing well over a hundred of them during the course of the day. Guana is of course the ideal place for them as it is the perfect place for them to feed and all of the Spoonbills I saw were doing just that - moving together like a pack of dogs swinging their goofy bills back and forth in the water as they feed.
I went well past the place where the shallow water had stopped me on my previous trip and took a branch that ran along the eastern edge of the land where some private homes are located. Most of these homes had long boardwalks with tall decks at the end so that they could look out over the lake - nice! I came back into the main channel and continued north skirting the western edge where houses began to appear. Looking on the map later I realized that I was now in what is called Lake Ponte Vedra. After shooting an Anhinga I decided to turn back south. I also saw some other birds that I have never seen before - a group of Glossy Ibis. It was shortly after turning back to the south that I had what is probably the strangest experience I have had yet in a kayak. I spotted a Stilt who was sitting on a nest and spent some time shooting her. I wondered why her eggs were so late in hatching but she was determined to stay put until they did.
I was pulling away from her nest when all hell broke loose. Without warning the water on the left side of my boat erupted and I was hit in the arm by something hard and slimy which caused me to squeal like a little girl. Those squeals quickly turned to loud curses that filled the air of Guana Lake when a fish at least 18 inches long landed in my lap and then slithered into the front of my boat where he began thrashing wildly between my feet. I managed to calm down enough to assess the situation and decided to not give up control of my boat to the slimy intruder who was now staring at me with a long snout and strange buggy eyes.
The long snout kind of worried me because he sort of resembled a Gar and I wasn't sure if I wanted to stick hands down there and get bit. I had to get him out because I couldn't put my feet down in the front of the boat without prompting him to start thrashing again. What was worse was that his thrashing (or mine) had knocked one of my foot pegs loose and even if I could paddle it was going to be difficult. Finally, I realized that a recent purchase of mine might do the trick. I had bought several pairs of different kinds of paddling gloves including one pair that actually double as paddles with webbing between the fingers. I figured that these would give me the protection from any teeth that he might wield and also give the ability to grip the slimy body. I managed to turn him around so that I could grab his tail and after a couple of attempts managed to grab him and toss him out of the boat in one quick motion. The whole thing exhausted me emotionally and didn't do anything for the slight headache I had started the day with but I was glad to be rid of my intruder. My foot peg was now hopelessly inaccessible somewhere in the front of my boat but I was able to adjust the way I paddle and continue my trip toward the ramp. I stopped just shy of the ramp to eat my sandwich and watched a Swallowtail Kite fly overhead.
As I pulled up to the ramp somebody was getting ready to launch a boat so I decided to take the branch that runs directly south of the ramp and heads out into the open end of the lake where I had seen the White Pelicans last month. As I got out into the open area I spotted two or three of the big fellas on a grassy outcrop and headed over. As I did I saw another kayaker approaching from the south and as he came closer I realized that he was paddling a Poke Boat like the kind I started paddling in 7 years ago. I pulled close to the Pelicans one of whom appeared to be snoozing with his head under his wing. While I sat there he suddenly woke up and startled his buddies and so I decided to leave them to enjoy the afternoon sun and headed back to the ramp. As I loaded up the other kayak pulled up which turned out to be an old codger in his 60's and we began to talk. He confirmed that he was indeed in a Poke and I told him that I owned a couple. When he asked if I had been fishing I told him no but that a fish had actually caught me and told him
about the adventure with the fish. He then said that he saw me shooting the Pelicans and asked if I saw the Swan that was with them. Apparently, as I now know after looking at my shots, the "Pelican" that was snoozing was actually a huge white Swan. The old guy told me that he had been fishing Guana for 50 years and that was the first time he had ever seen a Swan. He said that he had seen the Swan earlier swimming around and he just swam over to the Pelicans and joined them on their island. I guess if you are a big lonely white guy hanging out with other big white guys is comforting. He also told me about a second Eagle's nest on this end of the lake that was occupied so I guess I need to check that out soon. Now that the water level is back up I will definitely be checking out Guana more frequently this summer. It is truly a Birder's paradise.
See the pictures from this trip
part one
5/17/06
Just a quick trip after dinner. I haven't been feeling too good lately and the house is filling up with kids as we get ready to celebrate Andrew's graduation but tonight it just seemed right to get out there after a quick bite. There was a stiff SW breeze that was sending a chop at an angle to my boat and made the going tough at first since the tide was at dead low with almost no current. I saw little until I passed the first island to the west and rounded the big grassy point. I spotted a Great Blue in a tree on the back side of the island which was surprising since he was on the exposed side of the island. I was able to get quite close to him and get some good shots thanks to the blinding sun being directly behind me. Even after I pushed off from the shallow mud he didn't spook and I don't think he really saw me. As I was heading home I spotted a Green Heron out of the corner of my eye standing on a mudflat still as a statue. I paused to shoot him for several minutes as he stalked his prey in the mud something that I have never seen a Green Heron do and it was fun to see. I was out barely an hour but the reward of seeing the two herons and getting plenty of good shots made it well worthwhile. See the pictures from this trip
5/22/06
Today was the long awaited Graduation Day for Andrew - the final of our three kids to finish high school, so I took the day off and decided to get a quick trip in before we began the day's activities. The tide and limited time dictated my choice in trips and so a return to Browns Creek seemed in order. It was a cool morning but I could already tell that the day was well on its way to the 90's that were forecast as I headed west toward the big island. I was paddling against a strong outgoing current but there was little wind to oppose me as I cruised past the empty trees on the south side of the island. There was just enough water to take the shortcut through to the western side and as I entered the small stream that cuts across the grassy point I saw a familiar shape in a tree above me. There was also just a hint of pink plumage to go along with the goofy bill of the immature Roseate Spoonbill. He eyed me warily through the branches but never spooked as I sat beneath him for some time shooting. I continued on toward the runoff pond and found that there was just enough water to navigate around the edge. The Osprey pair at the plant were in the area as usual with Momma sitting with the chicks while Dad sat chirping on the bare tree adjacent. He spotted me and made several loops above my head chirping angrily. There were some Night Herons and an Anhinga there as well but on the whole not much to shoot so I headed back out.
I saw a few Little Blue Herons who are now in their molting phase where they turn from white to blue - looking a bit strange with their white bodies streaked with blue. I paused to shoot a mature Little Blue stalking his morning meal and the shallow glassy water reflected his image nicely. I skirted the big island again but saw nothing until I was almost to the end where I passed beneath a Great Blue in a tree and managed a few good shots. I decided to turn north into the main channel and check out the eastern end of the island since I usually see Great Blues vying for position in the tall pine trees that grow there.
As I got close to the NE corner of the island I saw a Great Blue fly up into a pine where it was immediately greeted by a raucous chatter. At first I thought the heron had invaded an angry squirrel's personal space and that it was barking at the intruder. As I watched I realized that there was a pair of herons in the tree where it had landed and the barking emanated from there. I soon realized that I was seeing something that I had never before witnessed - a mother Great Blue feeding her chicks. Feeding is perhaps too kind a term for what I witnessed and heard. The two youngsters, who were nearly as big as mom, literally attacked her and then each other as she tried to feed them the regurgitated fish meal she had just captured. The noise was incredible - I had never heard anything like it before. It sounded like a continuous growl punctuated by barks which were accompanied by a great flurry of flapping wings and leaping herons. Finally, mom had enough of their rude behavior and fled to a higher branch but that did little to quell the fight below which continued on unabated until a few minutes later when she left to get more food - or get some peace and quiet at the grocery store. I continued on to the backside of the island where I could get another angle on their tree and from there I could see that there was at least one other flimsy nest in the same area that was occupied by another adult heron. I've heard from others that have observed young Great Blues in their nest that this activity is pretty typical for the species. The young birds, which are plenty big enough to fly and probably big enough to feed themselves, will remain in the nest and literally attack the adult when she comes to feed - often causing visible wounds to the legs. It was funny to see this on the day that our youngest was set to graduate - although not quite ready to leave the nest. At least he doesn't attack us at dinner time! I guess though - when the baby herons finally do leave the nest - mom won't be TOO sad to see them go. See the pictures from this trip
5/26/06
Vacation time! Actually, although my week and a half off begins today we don't go down to High Springs until next Tuesday but with Hopey out of town I needed to find a place to paddle. After some debate I decided that I could combine a trip to BJ's with a trip to Guana and justify the long drive. I got in the water at 8 am on a clear, breezy day that was forecast to hit the low 90's. As I got ready to set out the old guy with the Poke Boat that I met on my last trip here pulled up so we chatted. He told me that the Swan we saw two weeks ago stuck around for 4 or 5 days before moving on. I asked him to give me an idea of where the location of the Eagle's nest he had mentioned before was and he pointed it out on my Terraserver photos and told me what to look for. I headed south along the little stream that runs along the east side of the lake and then began angling out toward the eastern bank. I could see the group of pine trees where the Eagle's nest was supposed to be and began making my way in that direction. There were 7 or 8 Great Blue Herons feeding around a grass island and so I paused to shoot them. There was also a Least Bittern nearby who I enjoyed shooting while he tried to pretend to be a blade of grass. I have seen Bitterns on nearly every trip to Guana recently and today I saw nearly a dozen.
I continued on toward the Eagle's nest and as I got close I could see a large dark shape sitting in a pine tree by itself in the same general area where the nest was supposed to be. A quick check with my binoculars confirmed that it was an Eagle and so I carefully made my way toward the tree. Once I got close to the bank I could spot the nest in one of the group of five or six of the taller pines just south of where the Eagle was sitting. I shot the Eagle for a few minutes before it flew off and I began making my way south. Just as I got even with the nest I spotted an Immature Eagle flying up the tree line from the south pursued by a Blackbird. As it got close I heard the cry of another Eagle and saw the adult that I had seen earlier fly out to greet it and then escort it back to a tree where there was some commotion once they got to the perch. I'm not sure if it was a case of the teenage kid being out all night and Momma was giving it a hard time but the mature Eagle fussed over it for some time.
I'm not sure what happened after that but the Adult Eagle kept up a constant screeching and it appeared that from somewhere unseen nearby was the sound of a young Eagle chick mewling. The Adult was greatly agitated, screeching and crying as it moved about on the tree. The noise continued from below somewhere and I'm sure it was coming from a chick. I began to worry that perhaps a fledgling had fallen from the nest and Mom was keeping a close eye on it. Of course it all could have just been because I was in the area since I had not heard any of this until the Immature Eagle showed up. I left the area and continued south toward what looked like an observation platform. I saw several small Gators in the water including one that came rushing out from the cattails as I passed. There is an outcropping that juts out into the channel that had a sandy beach so I got out and stretched my legs for a bit. I made my way to the platform but was disappointed to find that it was not set up for water access. I could have tried it and it was obvious that people had done so but it would have been hairy so decided not to. Apparently there is a trail that the platform connects to and I later heard voices coming from the woods. I paddled over to the eastern bank and headed back north - cutting back to check out the now empty and silent Eagle's nest. I stayed in the main channel until I got close to the channel that leads to the ramp. The most beautiful Anhinga I have ever seen was sitting on a post with its wings spread to dry and I was amazed at how close it let me get before flying away. It's plumage was incredible - the normally white back feathers looked almost silver and it had tiny pin feathers on it's neck.
I took a break to eat lunch and spotted a lone Roseate Spoonbill across the way so I headed over and shot him for a few minutes. I found a small stream that ran along the eastern bank for a ways and then cut back to the main channel. I went further north for a way before turning back and heading home. I was a little disappointed that I didn't see any Stilts but it appeared the the water level was up another six inches and that probably made them seek refuge deeper in the grasses. I was tired and it was hot so I was glad to call it a day and head back. See the pictures from this trip
5/28/06
Today was further proof that you never know what to expect when paddling the Timucuan. I headed toward my favorite Sunday morning put-in - Pumpkin Hill and was at the water's edge at 7:15. There were several Skimmers flying up and down the creek feeding in the way that their name suggests. Just a few feet from the put-in I spotted a Clapper Rail out for his morning grooming period and I got a couple of shots before he disappeared back into the grass for the rest of the day.
After rounding the first bend I spotted a Great Blue feeding in the shallows and the tide had come in just enough for me to glide up close to him. As I did the guy in the Ultra Light Aircraft that I see from time to time flew overhead toward Black Hammock where he turned around and came back. I was starting to get really annoyed with him especially when it appeared that he was getting ready to turn and buzz me. I was getting ready to give him the "one fingered salute" when I realized that he was doing his buzzing on the other side of Tiger Point and finally he and his noisy machine disappeared. By this time the Heron had had enough of me and the Ultra Light and took off for more peaceful locales. As I approached the bend opposite the trail terminus a pair of Dolphins came around the corner and headed up the creek. I continued on toward the point - passing another Dolphin near the big oyster beds on the long run up to the Tiger Point. Once I reached the point I rounded it slowly, hoping that I would see a touch of pink in the trees signaling the return of the Spoonies to the area. I was disappointed to see the trees completely bare and I paddled a little ways past the point before turning around to set my hammock up and eat my breakfast.
A pair of heads popped up as soon as I turned around and I quickly saw that it was a couple of Otters. I paused to shoot them thinking that their appearance would be brief and they would soon be on their way. They stuck around and like many of my otter encounters that I have had in the past as soon as they were aware of me they became very curious - lifting their heads completely out of the water to check me out. I realized that one of the otters had headed over to the bank and looked as if it wanted to head up into the woods so I beached my boat a few yards downstream and began shooting. The otter got out of the water but then began to act very strange. It kept peering at me but also behind me where his companion apparently was still swimming. He began to huff and puff as he scrambled up and down the bank and I thought I could hear some puffing coming from the water behind me so I think they were talking to each other. The otter on the bank crawled up the bank to a shelf directly above my boat - not more than five feet away from where the bow of my boat was and I could see him peering at me through the branches keeping up the huffing as he did.
He dropped back down to the lower bank and scrambled around a a few more minutes before he finally headed up into the woods and disappeared. A few seconds after he left I heard a loud splash behind me and turned to see the ripples just a few feet from my boat. It sounded like a tail slapping the water but it was a lot meatier sound than a fish so it may have been the second otter going to join his buddy in the woods. I set my hammock up at the point and ate my breakfast and then set back out for the put-in. With the water levels up now I stopped at the "Little Point" and cruised under the trees which were full of the usual assortment of Great and Snowy Egrets, Night Herons and one lone Roseate Spoonbill. They all flew off before I could get any shots so I head back into the main channel. I passed an immature Osprey at one of the trail terminus and then finished my trip. See the pictures from this trip
5/31/06
We decided to take our usual late May early June vacation in High Springs this year choosing to stay again at the wonderful Grady House B&B. Unlike previous stays which coincided with Hope's church conference in Live Oak we came here together in one vehicle and this time in the middle of the week instead of a weekend. What a difference! We are the only people staying at the house and High Springs is a sleepy little town that closes down at 7 every night. We decided that a trip to Ginnie Springs on a Wednesday would be the best since there would be little chance of the huge crowds that gather there on summer weekends. We were right but what we didn't expect was to see so much evidence of the recent Memorial Day crowds. The park was literally covered in trash. Worse yet was that the banks of the Santa Fe were lined with beer cans and abandoned inflatable rafts. Every trash receptacle was overflowing and it didn't look like the staff at the park was doing a very good job staying on top of things. I'm sure they were hoping for a good rain to come and wash the beer cans down the Suwannee and on to the Gulf. So - we tried our best to block out the garbage and concentrate on what is otherwise a beautiful setting. We got lost once again trying to find the ramp but as we paused next to Deer Springs thinking about putting in there instead a Red Shouldered Hawk flew up into a tree ahead of us. I tried to get my camera out but he flew off into the woods.
Finally, we found the ramp and set off upstream toward Rum Island where we planned to eat lunch. A Red Shouldered Hawk flew over our heads early in the trip but disappeared into the woods where he began his territorial calls. Not far up we spotted a Yellow Crowned Night Heron and I stopped to shoot him. He flew off a few times and then crossed the river where he began stalking prey. He had his full breeding plumage that I had never seen before. His crest was at least six inches long looping well behind his head and there was just a hint of yellow between his eyes - which is where their name comes from. I realized that there was at least one other Yellow
Crown along the banks and I took turns shooting them before they spooked. At one point both Night Herons flew over to the same area where an Immature Great Blue Heron was feeding. I paddled over and got some great shots with the two Night Herons on either side of the Great Blue. As I shot, a trio of Cattle Egrets joined the group photo session. Usually, wildlife photo ops on the Santa Fe are rare and yet, it seemed here - in the middle of a very trashy private park with boats and tubers flying by - I was getting some of the best photos I've ever gotten on the SF. Not far up I spotted yet another Yellow Crown whose crest was much shorter than the other two. I looped in behind him and let the current push me back into a tree where I stayed while I shot. When I finally decided to leave I turned and saw a full hornet's nest less than a foot away from my head. That was one shot that could have turned out badly! I caught up with Hope and we took a break near where the power lines cross the river. She asked why we were seeing so many Yellow Crowns here and I theorized that it probably had to do with the water levels being down a bit and opening up some shallow marshy areas along the banks where we could see them. They are probably always here but up in the woods when the river is higher.
We made our way up to the Blue Springs run and paddled up it until we could see the pool. It's not as large a spring and less natural in many ways than Ginnie but a whole lot less rowdy and cleaner. We continued upstream until we got to Rum Island and although it wasn't crowded we decided to take our lunch on the opposite side of the river on a small beach.
We headed back on the swift current and in minutes were in the park once again. We began to see the Yellow Crowns again and I paused to shoot them. After shooting one for a while I noticed that Hope was stopped downstream waiting for me. As I approached I spotted the same Great Blue we had seen earlier and stopped to shoot him. Once he flew off and we joined back up she told me that while I was shooting the Yellow Crown that she had seen this guy with a snake in his mouth. She said he shook it several times before he swallowed it whole and then took several drinks of water to wash it down. I wish I had seen that!
We were close to the ramp by now but unfortunately a large group of teen tubers had chosen to get out at the ramp instead of going to the tube takeout point downstream. You wouldn't think that would be a problem since we got there at the same time and it was obvious that we were BOATERS taking our BOATS out at a BOAT RAMP but there were young and drunk and rude and oblivious. Even the sight of me backing my truck up to the ramp as they lay on their tubes in the middle of the ramp caused little concern on their part. We loaded up without incident - a few eye rolls from Hope as I had to keep saying "excuse me!" to get the boats from the water to the truck but I didn't push it. As we drove off I remarked "aren't you glad that children are our future?" Actually, I'm glad OUR children are our future - they are pretty terrific if I do say so myself. We ended the day by taking our own floats and floating down the river to the takeout point (the real takeout point) and it was so relaxing laying back in the hot sun while sitting immersed in the freezing water. The water in the river itself, which is normally quite dark from the Tannins, was almost crystal clear (which meant we could see every beer bottle and can). I think this may because of the lack of rain recently which means more of the water is coming from the springs. See the pictures from this trip
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