Tag Archives: kayaking

The Weekly Smile for the 26th of September, 2022 #weeklysmile

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Hi All! I know I sometimes sound like a broken record on these posts, but some things really make me smile ;) Oh, for those who are not ancient, vinyl records would sometimes get scratches which made them skip. Sometimes that old album would repeat the same partial phrase over and over and over and over until you moved the tone arm. I know, back when the brontosaurus roamed… Anyway, that is what a “broken record” is…

I spent the weekend on Cape Cod. Saturday was a beautiful day, though it started very windy. I took a long walk in the woods in the morning, where the high winds didn’t matter. I did an equally long walk on the beach in the afternoon. The wind was not coming off of the water, so it was easy. But I also noticed that it had died down quite a bit.

That meant I could go out on the kayak!

Continue reading →

The Weekly Smile for October 14, 2019 #weeklysmile

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If you wonder why I sometimes have strange Smiles, like homemade chili using fresh from the garden ingredients, well, it’s because so often I smile about the same few things, over and over :)  This is one of those weeks that could almost be copied and pasted from a few weeks back….

I drove down to Cape Cod late Saturday evening. I walked down to the closer of the two landings on Sunday morning. It is rare for it to be so calm. Yep, time for a paddle!

This was perhaps my longest paddle yet. There was almost nobody out. I saw a lot of wildlife, including osprey, which is odd, I have never seen any in October. I saw quite a few Great Blue Herons, though no other herons or egrets. A seal came up close to check me out. A lot of large fish jumped out of the water, attracting a lot of birds. Since the water was so calm, it was crystal clear, so in the shallows I could watch crabs and shellfish moving around. There were jelleyfish. The cormorants were splashing around. Continue reading →

The End of a Streak

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In March of 2015 I took my kayak out for the first time for the year.  I kayaked at least once a month every month through the rest of 2015.  I was bale to get out in the water in January and February of 2016, so I ended up kayaking at least once a month through all of 2016.  And then I was able to get onto the water in January and February of 2017 as well.  I figured I had it made.

Mother Nature had different ideas.

See the photo at the top of the page?  This is where I kayak.  Do you see water?  Neither do I.  I see only snow and ice.

It is cold.  It is very cold.  We occasionally have cold snaps like this in late January.  We never have cold snaps like this in December!

So I did not kayak in December.  I was here a couple of weeks ago, but there were gale force winds the entire time – kayaking in those winds is not the smartest thing to do when the temperature was hanging just slightly above freezing.  I decided to wait.

Oh well, I almost made it.  I don’t think I’ll get every month in 2018, either.   Oh well….

Swimming in October

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A day swimming at the beach on Cape Cod… in October?

It is October in New England.  Summer is a distant memory.  We have chill nights and walks in the woods full of color.

Or that’s the way it is most years.

The colors aren’t’ bright this year and the air is warm.

I did a long paddle on my kayak today, ending at South Village Beach in West Dennis, MA.  That is on Cape Cod.  The beach is where Swan River meets the Ocean (actually, Nantucket Sound).  I started up in Swan Pond.

After getting to the beach, I waded in the water, going deeper and deeper.  Finally I dunked my head under.  And then I swam for about 5 or 10 minutes.  I didn’t have a towel, so I air dried.

Remember, this is October in New England.

OK, I hiked Franconia Ridge last November and swam off of Cape Cod this October.  I have kayaked every month (on the Cape) for almost 30 months straight.  So what will next year bring?  Sun bathing in January?

The Weekly Smile 72 #weeklysmile

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Weekly Smile #WeeklySmile

Weekly Smile #WeeklySmile

There was quite a bit to smile about this week.  It was ultra busy, though, so I had little time to think about those smiles.  Of course this was also a very strange week, particularly those who read the news and/or follow US politics.  Uhm, with all that is happening in the world and all that is happening at work (a huge amount), I have a hard time thinking of my life away from the news or work.  So I will pick an easy smile. Continue reading →

I Want Your Smile #weeklysmile Reminder 57

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Weekly Smile #WeeklySmile

Weekly Smile #WeeklySmile

I was able to get out of work early on Friday to make up for the days I worked late.  Not real early, but in winter having more daylight to play in is always a plus.  I went out a tested the air.  the wind had died down significantly and the air was a bit above freezing.  Do you know what that means?  I could kayak!

I got the kayak down to the landing an all ready to go when I ran into the first little difficulty.  Although most of Swan Pond was ice free, there was about 20 or 30 yards (meters) of ice just off of the landing.  It actually wasn’t too much of a problem.  I’d strike the ice with a paddle and it sink in.  Then I could push the paddle against the ice and crunch through the ice ahead.  Continue reading →

Weekly Smile 52! (Part 2) #weeklysmile

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Weekly Smile #WeeklySmile

Weekly Smile #WeeklySmile

Yesterday I went out on the kayak.  It was cold and windy, but I was dressed for it.  In fact, I was a little over dressed and sweated a little.  I stayed out about 45 minutes, so not a long paddle, but it was more than just getting in the boat to say I was in it, I actually did paddle.  i saw two Great Blue Herons, a family of Mute Swans, a few Cormorants, some Baffle Head Ducks, some Canadian Geese, etc.  So there was activity out on Swan Pond. Continue reading →

On the Water

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Kayak

New England has a funny thing that Midwest states don’t, or at least didn’t when I was a kid: Winter Break.  Winter Break, aka February Vacation, is a week without school.  There is also a Spring/April break.  The typical activity for Winter Break is going skiing.  The end of February is still the heart of winter here.  We’ll, it is most years.

I took two days off of work to spend my Winter Break on Cape Cod.  I arrived in the pouring rain, but it was a warm rain.  This afternoon the sun came out.  The temperature has dropped a little and it is very windy, but I decided to take the kayak out.  Amazingly this isn’t the first time this year.  I was on the water on New years Day! Continue reading →

A Smile a Day – Day 28 – Cold-water Kayaking

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Kayak

So I go up this morning and for once there was no snow, rain or drizzle.  There was also very little wind.  It was a little cooler than it’s been, but not frigid.  What would any normal person do on before 8 AM on January 1?  Go kayaking, of course!

It was a pretty short paddle.  One problem is there were several duck hunters about and I didn’t want to get too close to them.  And then it did turn breezy, though still relatively calm.  So I was out for maybe 45 minutes.  I got back, changed, and wen to the beach for a while to unwind.  So now, after all of that, breakfast lunch, several dog walks, etc., it is time to sit for 5 minutes at the computer before I go outside again.  Life’s too short to stay indoors!

So today’s smile is about kayaking on January 1st.  I’m going to try to get in the water once every month in 2016 but won’t be too disappointed if I don’t – at least I started off right!

Powder Mill Pond (Throwback Thursday)

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Kayak

(Note – I wrote this in July of 2010)

“Smooth as a mill pond.” This is such an apt phrase and one of the things that makes kayaking on Powder Mill Pond so enjoyable. No matter how windy there is never more than just a ripple on the pond. With an average depth of 3 feet it is hard for even chop to develop the way it does on deeper lakes.

Powder Mill Pond is a small (419 acre) lake that straddles the line between Greenfield and Bennington, NH. There are 2 main sections divided by a very low railroad bridge crossing a narrow choke point.   The main section is well over a mile long and has large expanses of open shallow water. There are several bays and inlets. The other section, which ends at the dam, is a little less than a mile and is dominated by a large island. Since the highway, Rt. 202, comes down close to the water in this second smaller section, I often just paddle a short way into it, perhaps looping around the island. Continue reading →