LHR Images BLOG

I went for another paddle yesterday. The lake was calm — smooth as glass. Of course, I had to visit the eagles. I think they’re getting used to me…. they were definitely cooperative. The 2 adults sat in one tree… not exactly side by side but close enough so I didn’t have to move between photographing each of them.

Across the lake, this year’s young one had left the nest, exploring the tree it resides in. It’s the first time I’d seen it out of the nest. Won’t be long now before it starts flying.

On the way back to the landing, I took a few photos in the fading light.

I sure do like having this place close by!

I’d really intended to go back to the cliffs the evening of the first day. Too tired from my paddle with the group kept me from doing so. Besides, we had cloud cover for most of the evening in any case. So, instead, I went back the next morning, a little earlier than the previous day… and alone.

Skies were a lot clearer but there was a little more chop on the water. Not bad chop but it would increase while I was out. This cliff should look familiar:

Since I was by myself, I was more free to spend time exploring and composing shots… no where near as hurried as I’d been the day before.

The downside was that I had no other kayaks to “place” in the foreground of my shots.

I did a little experimentation while in one of the caves.

Due to the time of day, most of the points were in the shade. There were a couple of exceptions though.

Even though I got back to the landing on Meyer’s Beach much later than when we’d put in the day before, I encountered no other kayaks while on the water. I’d had the whole sea cave area to myself. I would have liked to stay longer but, it was time to return the kayak and begin the drive home.

On Thursday morning, I hooked up with a kayak tour group from Trek & Trail Outfitters. Destination; the sea caves along the mainland near Meyer’s Beach. The 10 of us, including 2 guides, were shuttled out to Meyer’s Beach, had some quick instruction, and then started getting our boats ready.

About an half-hour later, we were at the cliffs.

The cliffs were awesome!

This is the first tunnel we spotted.

A large crevasse lured us to explore its dank, dark depths.

The colors, patterns and shapes were fantastic.

Someone mentioned that it was like being at Arches National Park, only with water. I had to agree. It was definitely fun paddling through the arches…

…to find out what was on the other side.

Threading the needle… Scott, one of our guides, pulls himself through a particularly narrow arch.

We stopped on a sand beach for lunch. There was definitely more than enough to go around!

Lots of smiles to go around too, on the way back.

Did I mention the fantastic scenery?

That’s all, for now, from day 1. I’ll try to have the photos from day 2 (my solo trip) ready soon. Eventually, I also plan to have a slideshow on my site that will include more photos.

Sometimes, I go paddling at Chester Woods and hardly see any wildlife. Last night was definitely not one of those nights! It was a gorgeous evening and many creatures were out and about enjoying it.

When I first got to the lake, there were a few, puffy clouds.

Even they soon disappeared though. Further cloudscapes were out of the question and I paddled down the bay to the eagles’ nest. This particular evening, I was able to see both adults and this year’s eaglet. The latter was still hunkered down in the nest and I didn’t manage to get a good shot. The adults posed very nicely for me though…

Near where I was shooting the eagles, a large flock of geese and goslings hid in the grass along the shoreline.

Nearby, a deer browsed in the meadow

While a beaver chowed down on some vegetation in the lake… allowing me to drift quite close!

Turkeys were making a lot of noise near where I photographed the geese but never came out in the open. On my way back to the landing, owls were hooting and I saw a cormorant roosting in a dead tree. The nearly full moon was also tempting me. But I had to head for home.

Last night, I took advantage of a break in the weather to go paddling at Chester Woods. First time since we lost Frodo so it was definitely a bittersweet event.

Thanks to all our recent rain, the lake was about 10 feet higher than usual. I paddled past sunken fishing piers, picnic tables and trash cans. The dock at the boat launch was a few yards from shore.

Fantastic cloud formations reflected in the calm water.

The bow of my canoe sure was empty without Frodo sitting there.

There was an eaglet on the nest I’ve been observing for the last several years. I took a bunch of obligatory shots but none worth sharing. Mostly, I just concentrated on the clouds. And, searching, in vain, for the turkeys gobbling along the shoreline.

With the clouds, I was expecting a spectacular sunset. While definitely nice, it didn’t live up to expectations.

Although I stayed fairly late, I wasn’t anywhere near the last one off the water. It was such a nice evening, it was tough to leave. Yes, Frodo was missed but I definitely still enjoyed the paddle.