Early Morning Walk

Original Photo

PhotoShop Treatment

I got up early today, 5 am. The sky was clear as a bell but it was 14 degrees out and very windy. I wanted to go outside since next week at this time I'll be at SK with tubes coming out of everywhere. So I suited up with thermals, ski pants, sweatshirt, jacket, hat and gloves and went to the lake. The sky was amazing. I laid down on the wooden dock and watched the sky, hoping to see some meteors. I didn't see any but there seemed to be many planets out there. The lake was alive too. I could hear the ice expanding and contracting and cracks would start on one end and work their way down to me. Awesome.
I can't wait for things to thaw and me to be able to kayak again. It should be good therapy for me in about a month. On my walk back, I stopped and took a photo of Bocci's, a good Italian place right on the lake.

Before and After

Well, the mail keeps pouring in about my last post so I thought I'd change the subject and talk about the weather. It's COLD. Kayaking is over for now but I think it will thaw before too long. It has been a mild winter so far with no snow to speak of (yet). I was over at the farm Saturday and took a photo of a dead sunflower. I thought the contrast with the old and new was interesting, even the sky looks dead

Walton Lake

Sundogs, or perihelia, as they are technically known, are caused by ice particles reflecting a diffused light. More info

Kayaking Sunrise

I was up at 6am on Sunday morning and I had the incredible urge to go kayaking. It looked like it was going to be a great sunrise and I was right. I'm trying to strike while the iron is hot as they say. Why wait until tomorrow? Tomorrow may not come

Kayak

I decided to do something instead of talk about doing something today. I usually drive past the lake and think that I should have gone kayaking. I sometimes can't fathom how I went kayaking 81 consecutive days two summers ago after I was first diagnosed with cancer. That seems like ions ago. It certainly is not as easy as it was post-op to go as it was pre-op. My abdoman hasn't healed right. I still find it incredibly calming though to be out on the lake, I just am not breaking any speed records now.

These pictures aren't in the correct order but the first one is correct. The second one was taken near the end of the ride but I thought it fit better here. The next two are of the elusive Blue Heron. I saw one on a rock by where I start my ride but it was darker and he took off too quickly. When I was going back to my take off area, I spotted something under the dock and I thought maybe it was it. I was right. I was surprised at how close I was aable to get to him. He may have not felt threatened or he was sick. At one point I thought he was going to attack me so I backed off.
The next two pictures are just some random shots. No, the paddle is not my old nickname. The other shot is looking across the lake. The last two include one of a sunken skull. I'm not sure who's it is and if it's up for grabs. I thought of trying to salvage it but I doubt I have the energy for it. Maybe I can send it to Celeste's homeless guy. The last picture was as I was putting the kayak back on it's cart for the walk home.

Sunset on Round Lake NY

Mist on the Move

Mist

I took these this morning on my way to work. The photos don't really show it, but all of the mist was coming from the shoreline and swirling and rising toward the center of the lake. From there I imagine it goes back into the atmosphere to help form clouds.

Rainy - Foggy

I got home yesterday from work and was planning on cutting the lawn and swimming. Mother Nature had different plans for me it seemed. We got hit with a real mother of a storm. We must have had 3 inches of rain in under an hour. We also wound up losing power for about 2 hours after the storm so I decided to take the kayak outon the lake at dusk. It was remarkable. The photos don't do it justice at all. The lake was like a sheet of glass and there was no one on it at all. When it was really getting dark, I noticed a shape in the distance so I went to investigate. As it turned out,there was a Ghost Rowboat that was floating alone. I paddled over to it and sort of pushed it back to shore by where I thought it belonged. Afterwards, I noticed that the power had come back on so I went back to the house, then took a 1/2 hour swim.
Sorry, no photos

First Paddle

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Sunrise on Walton Lake

06.21.05 - Sunrise on Walton Lake
This is how I started my day! There was the coolest mist rising from the lake this morning, the lake was like a sheet of glass. I think I'd totally lose my mind if I didn't have this place to go to every day. I went 81 consecutive days last year.