the other kind of paddle

I went kayaking today and boy was it awesome! First sunny paddle of the season and now I'm red as a lobster, but I don't care. It was gorgeous. I'm only sorry Mahavira wasn't able to join me. Sadly, she had to write a paper and then work in the afternoon. Leaving her precious little self there in the bed this morning was hard, but the second I put my boat in the water I knew it was all worthwhile.

This was a stellar paddle for wildlife. We saw tons of turtles, red-tail hawks, herons, egrets, deer and a beaver. The beaver was by far the coolest -- it swam along in front of us for awhile then doubled back as we passed and swam back in the direction of a beaver lodge on the bank of the river. It was really cute. Seeing wildlife is one of the perks of paddling. So is the upper-body workout. My arms are sore and my shoulders are all knotty. Can't wait for Mahavira to get off work tonight and give me a rub down. :-) *That's* another perk of paddling. . . ;-)