river kayaking

This weekend we left Southie for a quick trip to Mike's hometown for dinner and a spontaneous kayaking trip on the Nashua River. Mike's parents and their friends have gotten into paddling this year and now I'm a little addicted too! The beginning of the river was swift and narrow, the water high due to several inches of rain over the last week and lots of downed trees and groves to navigate... Mike and his dad made a game out of seeing who could get the other to follow through an obstacle and hopefully tip their kayak. ;)

Towards the middle the river widened, turning and winding lazily past beaver-felled trees under a sun-dappled canopy of leaves. Bright blue and irridescent green dragonflies landed on our paddles and kayaks for moments before buzzing off in the hot air and we happened upon a few deer, heron, diving birds, a hummingbird and (inexplicably) a random billy goat. 

The torrential rain we've had over the past few days made everything almost shockingly lush, heavy and green. And quiet. I noticed about halfway through how thick the silence was... it was almost loud compared to the constant sirens, car alarms, music, neighbors and other urban noise pollution I'm so accustomed to now.

Towards the end there was a little off-shoot of the river that we ducked into and found a glassy pond full of turtles and frogs sunning themselves on logs and resting on lily pads. The water was so still that I could cut through the lilies without really disturbing them and get pretty close and check them out... so many bright colors and intricate designs for animals that live their lives underwater. And then plunk! They would slip off their lily pads and disappear into the murky water.

And now, back into the studio for me.