Thursday, October 15, 2009

Kayaking on a Crisp Autumn Day

One of the best ways to take in nature's beauty is by kayaking. Whether you're paddling along a sleepy river, exploring a salt marsh, or catching the waves of the ocean this fun sport enables you to go places and see things that you'd never be able to explore on land.

Leaf peeping takes on new meaning when you are in a kayak. On a recent chilly autumn day we took in all the glorious colors during a paddle down the Nemasket river.

On this day the river was calm and the air still so it made for an easy paddle. Here you can see the river looked like a mirror.



As the river was winding we started to hit some thick vegetation. This actually made it challenging to paddle.

Turning the corner we started to spot something moving. I grabbed for my camera and....

....look what I saw! A blue heron standing proudly in the marsh.


Continuing on we spotted many brightly colored maple trees like the tall one below with dazzling red leaves.
There were a few large rocks and boulders on the side of the river. Some were actually right in the middle of the river and we had to navigate around them.


As you can see Andy paddles much faster than I do and he's always way ahead of me.... hey whatever happened to the buddy system?






We often hit spots where the trees made a gorgeous canopy over the river. Some canopies were so low we'd have to duck to go under them.


Once we were through the first canopy we saw some really interesting dead trees and branches.




Here was an old abandoned cottage. When we got to this area we could hear coyotes howling.... I was glad I was on the water! It made for a spooky pre-Halloween trip.




I love the way the leaves look when they have fallen on the water. I wish the camera could have captured the colors better because they were so radiant.




We paddled on for 3 hours and enjoyed some more bird watching. There were a few other kayakers and one couple canoeing that passed by us. As the sun started to set we knew we had to head back to the boat ramp. With heavy hearts we returned to our cars. There won't be many more days this season like this one. Soon the trees will be bare and the river frozen over, but for the moment we felt like we went back in time - we could just imagine what the Indians saw and the pilgrims who settled not too far from here in Plymouth.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is so beautifully written and the pictures tell the story so well. I could almost imagine the serenity and beauty of your trip. Kinda sad that the season can't last longer but you certainly had a beautiful day. Thanks for sharing.

Maureen said...

Lovely photo's and your blog background and header pic is beautiful, the colours of Autumn, warm and spicy.

Heather said...

What a beautiful day of picture taking! Awesome view from a kayak for sure~

Carol said...

Beautiful post! What a lovely lovely place to kayak! Gorgeous and your photos are fabulous. You made me long to be there in my blue kayak... that has hardly been used this year... alas! I so enjoy this. Carol

Mary Delle LeBeau said...

Just loved taking the kayak trip with you. The leaves are so beautiful. What a wonderful way to spend your afternoon.

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

What gorgeous photos...this had to be such a beautiful place...
coyotes are normal here...we have fields of corn, soybeants, etc. surrounding us and we live on the edge of a town!!!
Thanks for taking us on this trip with you...it was great!!!

Anonymous said...

It is so peaceful and looks like good steady exercise. I wouldn't want to leave either.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

What a beautiful trip. It's so nice to enjoy the view from the water instead of the road sometimes.
I really enjoyed your pictures.

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Jackie, what a great images of your trip! I love kayaking, but we don't do it often. LLLLThe images are amazing!

Cliff W said...

More beautiful photos. You're blessed to live in such gorgeous countryside. Keep'em coming...

We went sea-kayaking recently in the Adriatic - it's amazing how much more you can see and notice.

From the Old InkWell said...

OH! How gorgeous! I love blue herons and the ride was so relaxing and peaceful! Made my morning. Thanks for letting me glide along with you. :)

Michelle, All Home and Love said...

That looks like fun. Those tree branches look neat, kind of spooky for Halloween almost. Maybe they knew the holiday was coming up. ;)

It really is so neat to take in the views from the water. Great photos!
~Michelle

tina said...

What a wonderful way to see nature up close and personal. This looks like so much fun! Such lovely pictures of it too.

Did you know Dave at the Home Garden is doing a fall color project? If you wish, you might check him out and he can add in a link. It was pretty good last year.

Anonymous said...

Would you believe I never went kayaking until two years ago at the age of 50?? It was fun and I would definitely do it again. It is so peaceful, I agree.

LeAnn

sweetbay said...

I've never been kayaking, but what a wonderful way to view the river and the trees. Great shot of the heron!

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

Lovely fall photos, especially the one of the leaves on the water.