We did lots of fun things this weekend, but the most relaxing thing we did was take the canoe out for a paddle. We stuck close to home at Green Turtle Pond. It was a beautiful morning—warm and sunny without being either too humid or too warm. The lake was calm and still. The only sound was the splash of our paddles as we made are way around the perimeter.

It’s a nice leisurely workout. Sometimes we just sit and float, watching the sun dance on the water.

The wooden hull of the canoe slips silently and effortlessly through the water. We always draw quite a bit of attention in our beautiful canoe. People going by in other canoes or boats always ask if we made it. We tell them, no, but a good friend did—aren’t we lucky to own such a thing of beauty?

Just as we rounded the corner at the end of our journey we heard a great deal of splashing going on. We decided to see just what was making so much noise.

It was a dog.

At first we couldn’t tell if he was chasing a ball that his owner was throwing out in the water or what. He was sure having fun diving and splashing.

It soon became obvious that he wasn’t chasing anything. He was entertaining himself by diving down and creating flumes of water that he then tried catching in his mouth.

It was the funniest thing we have ever seen. Every time he got out of the water his owner sent him back in to play some more. I could not resist taking photos.

There’s a dog in there somewhere!

Meet Tommy-Boy. His owner thinks he might be part pit bull and part lab. Definitely a water dog at heart.

And so ended another enjoyable paddle around our local pond.

Okay, I admit I’m stretching the words a bit, but truly, isn’t orange beautiful?

My sister arrived yesterday to join me this week in going up to my Mom’s house (which has recently been sold) to sort and pack her belongings. Not a fun task to be sure. One filled with all kinds of memories, regrets and so much more.

Today we took her on what will probably be our last canoe trip around Green Turtle Pond before Winter arrives.

My sister was very skeptical because she doesn’t like “boats,” but she was a good sport about it as she sat in the middle like Cleopatra as Rick and I paddled her around. I think even she will admit that she enjoyed it a great deal. The wind kicked up midway around and we had a pretty good workout just paddling back. A beautiful day though!

I won’t be blogging until next week since I don’t have access to a computer at my Mom’s house. Until then, I wish you all a great week!

Sunday morning found us not mushroom hunting, but paddling our canoe. The morning was pleasant and not too humid or warm, like it would become in the afternoon. As we rounded the bend to one of the little coves, we saw a mother swan with her nearly-grown cygnets. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: who in the world came up with the word cygnet for a baby swan? It doesn’t fit at all! Let’s paddle a bit closer, shall we?

The youngsters are an interesting color at this age. Not quite white, but losing the brownish color they’ve worn for so long. I think they are quite lovely! I love the long reflections of their necks.

The woodsy reflections were lovely, too.

We disturbed a double-crested cormorant trying to fish.

All in all, a lovely fowl-filled paddle around the pond.

Taken from the canoe last weekend on Monksville Reservoir.

Yesterday we ventured into new territory with the canoe: Monksville Reservoir, which is only a few miles from home. I’ve long been fascinated by the standing dead forest that came into existence when the land was flooded and the reservoir made in the early 1980s.

I took photos last fall from the far shore and I can’t wait for the changing colors this year now that we can get closer with the canoe.

We paddled into the eerie, weathered forest.

At times the trees seemed to reach out for our canoe (or maybe it was my overactive imagination!). The moon was still visible: can you spot it?

The slight breeze made for some interesting reflections.

Join us!