"Look Out Below!"

It was a crane-your-neck kind of morning walk. Animal sights and sounds kept me rubber necking.

Squirrels, robins, a waxwing, and a woodpecker. All 4 got relegated to my FLICKR PAGE.

After my walk, Shelley (naturelover) and I headed to a local lake for a kayak ride. Since it was quite windy, we instead headed up the river that connects to the lake. The current was strong enough that you couldn't rest very much. Paddle, paddle, paddle.

We hit a couple of "tricky" spots. Downed trees that you had to either go over, or duck under. She had a small camera, but I left mine at home. She made me nervous because she was in my tippy boat.

We both survived, seeing a kingbird, a swan family, a kingfisher, and a boatload of turtles. At one large log, I counted 8 snapping turtles. All big boys. Prehistoric and scary looking.

Merrick is over for a sleepover, and we're just heading outside. That's all he wants to do is to be outside.

P.S. The robin never let loose. It might have been fun to try to dodge. Or not.