Hot, crotch pot cooking hot, as I think Robin Williams said in “Good Morning Vietnam.”  Nonetheless paddling up the river even in the hot sun felt good.  There was a bit of a breeze which I thought was working against me with the current as I went upstream.  For whatever reason or my lack of direction, the breeze was blowing back against me as I headed back down river.  Murphy, eh?

I believe this is a Double-breasted Cormorant.

While in Tidewater Virginia for my sister Kim’s wedding, my uncle Cliff and I headed off to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR).  Cliff meandered about amongst the dunes birding while I tried to do the same in my kayak out on the water.  Unfortunately for me, bird sightings were few and far between…thankfully, so were the bird droppings.  I did get a great paddle in a very beautiful area.

Also unfortunate for both Cliff and me were the chiggers.  I never got them before and do not want to get them again.  These little arachnids burrow into your skin and hang on until you can asphyxiate them by covering the bites with nail polish or toothpaste.  The bites itch like crazy.  I thought I had poison ivy and was somewhat relieved to find it was chiggers.  I am still up and down, now, about which affliction was worse.

Using the map I got I was not sure exactly how much water I covered but I think it was minimal.    I have no idea at what rate I paddle and surely cannot judge distance on the water.  I bet one could spend days paddling around Back Bay before seeing everything.  I have included a few pictures.

View from a sheltered spot after a decent open water paddle:

Is it my treet?

A different perspective:

Right…….

Even the trees are asking to be bored to death.

I was in Suffolk, VA, early last month for my sister Kim’s wedding (more on that later).  For those of you who don’t know Suffolk, it is in southeastern Virginia…often called Tidewater Virginia…and water is everywhere.  Kim lives just a block or two from the Nansemond River and a few miles from Bennett’s Creek.  I have put my kayak in the at Bennett’s Creek Park and at Bennett’s Creek Marina.  When I put in at the marina last year, I paddled out to the confluence of the Nansemond River through the salt marsh where I saw numerous Osprey, herons, gulls, and terns.

This year when I put in at the park, I paddled upstream against the tide.  That did not seem too strenous but when I turned around to paddle back and found the journey to be nearly effortless, I realized I must have been working pretty hard to get upstream.  I went as far up the creek as I could until I ran out of deep enough water.  En route I encountered numerous Great Herons, a couple Green Herons, many Osprey, and two Kingfishers.  On the way back down to the park I snapped a few pictures which are included here.

Great Egret Taking Flight

River Views

I went out to kayak on Bull Run Creek early yesterday afternoon and got caught in a wicked thunder and lightning storm. I saw it coming but have not been out paddling much this summer and felt the need. Plus, I had packed everything up and headed off to my launching point without paying any attention to the weather. I figured I owed it to myself to get totally soaked for not thinking ahead and checking it out.

I had a really great paddle…but as soon as I first got on the water, I realized I needed to get close to the shore where the tall trees were so I wasn’t sitting in the middle of a body of water like a lightning rod. Once I got to the shore, on which I really could not land because it was too steep, I pulled in under an old derelict dock which protected me from a good part of the downpour.

I still got cold and wet and had to soak up the water accumulating in the bottom of my kayak with a towel and wring it out over the side. I have found that having a small towel on board can come in handy for things like that.

This is what my view was for at least 30 minutes.

Rain On You Crazy Droplets.

Truly in my elements.

The weather got better. I was in and out of sprinkles for an hour or so after I broke out of my shelter but eventually the sun came back out. It worked out perfectly for me since I never got too hot. I didn’t see a single person during my adventure accept for two guys in ponchos on a fishing boat coming down the river in the pouring rain. I am not even sure if they saw me hiding out underneath the dock. No waves were exchanged, other than those on the water and their wake. No catfish or dolphins were hurt.

I saw numerous Great Blue Herons, a few Green Herons, some Ospreys including an immature, Kingfishers, Killdeer, Great and/or Snowy Egrets, deer (which I rarely see from the trails in that area), and the always present Mallard Ducks and Canadian Geese.

I saw one Turkey Vulture flying up to its perch high up on a tree on the way up river. (The tree was not on its way upriver, I was.) On the way back down I saw two more sitting in a tree branch high above me. I guess they figured I was a goner. Wrong!

The calm after the storm.

Great Blue Heron on the run.

And, on this muddy reflecting pool, we have the Bull Run Memorial Tree.