ORFS Kayak McDaniel’s Marsh

Tuesday, June 18: Outdoor Recreation for Seniors met at this area for today’s paddle. It was a beautiful day – but HOT!! As I was driving home, on a shady dirt road, my car registered 96 degrees F. (35.5 C). I tried to stay wet – this isn’t a great spot for swimming (too marshy!), but I kept a wet towel over my legs, and a long sleeve white shirt that I kept damp. And drinking water, and drinking more water!

Three of the many beaver lodges we paddle by

Those mounds of dirt and plant matter are home to muskrats.

There were so many water lilies – white ones covering the water, in places, and yellow ones.

The view returning, after 3.7 miles

I returned home just as it started to rain. By the time I got to the door, I was soaked – so I stripped down to my bathing suit and stood under the drip edge from the roof, rinsing off the salt and dirt from the day. It felt great! So now I’m cool and comfortable, in a house cool enough so there’s condensation on the outside of the windows. Given that the next few days are forecast to be even more hot, I don’t know how long I can keep it this way, but I’m going to try!

Kayaking Crystal Lake with ORFS

Tuesday, June 4: Outdoor Recreation for Seniors met at Crystal Lake in New Hampshire. I’ve paddled here a few times before – this was the first time I made it all the way to the dam at the outlet. It’s always been too windy, or raining, or raining and windy. And then there was the time hardware on my kayak seat broke, when it was windy, and then it began to rain… It’s a little over four miles round trip. One of our members has an app that tracks the distance.

Small waterfall

Under to the dam and back, with blooming locust trees

We end, eating lunch together.

ORFS at Kezar Lake

Today was the first day of the Outdoor Recreation for Seniors kayaking season. I had trouble getting the kayak on the roof of the car, and then there was a rolling roadblock on the interstate, so I got there an hour late, as the first people were coming in. I still put the kayak on the water – doesn’t it look like a perfect day?? and paddled over to join people for lunch, then paddled back to the launch. There is now an adaptive seat thing to help those who need it enter and exit their boats; it certainly made the exit much drier for me!

I wasn’t in a hurry, and the last person had left when I found that my starter had died. Sigh. The locals suggested who I should call; hefty tow guy showed up; he pushed me enough to pop the clutch and get it started. Don’t know what the answer is with an automatic transmission! So into the shop it goes on Thursday. Grumble. Oh, well…

Another Day Kayaking with ORFS: Goose Pond

Tuesday, July 18: Outdoor Recreation for Seniors gathered at the public launch at Goose Pond, with overcast skies, lots of smoke haze (although none of us were bothered by it), and thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon. There were about 17 of us, plus two walkers and a late arrival who was only able to come to be sociable as we were eating lunch. Goose Pond, in New Hampshire, is a moderately sized lake, mostly built up around the edges. Traditionally we start out going up to and up the inlet, then turning and going south on the lake to a good sized island, around that, then back to load up boats and head to the home of our hosts overlooking the lake for an ice cream party (after we eat lunch, of course!)

Pirate Squirrel joined us for the first time this season

The above beetle was on the lake host’s shirt.

But this is the real reason I try to never miss this paddle – home made ice cream!!

We enjoy visiting, eating together, visiting, and eventually people have to be on their way. Sighted on my way out:

Would you entrust your children to this child care center???

It did briefly shower while we ate ice cream, inside and on the enclosed porch, and it is raining again now – I’m glad it held off while we were on the water!

Kayaking Grafton Pond with ORFS

Tuesday, July 11: Sea level rise? Well, no – but the many inches of rain that fell over the past couple of days raised the level of Grafton Pond by what looked like about a foot!!

Vermont got hammered by the rain – a few of my friends had to evacuate from their homes in Ludlow in the center of the state. I was not even inconvenienced; I went over and picked up my camper from the camper repair place, and did grocery shopping, while the rain fell. It was a good excuse to sit and knit, and read. But my phone was very busy, mostly with friends and relations texting and calling to make sure I was OK. I am fortunate to live on a hill, and while my dirt driveway has some new ruts, it’s not in any worse shape than it usually is.

Today, being Tuesday, was a kayaking day for Outdoor Recreation for Seniors(ORFS). I was on the phone last night with some of the leaders, and they called this morning to confirm that there didn’t seem to be roads out and the weather looked good, so it was a go. I was detoured around one town, and there were a couple of places where half of a road was covered with water, but getting there was not a problem.

Arriving at the launch, it was easy to see that the water was high.

The above passage is not a place I’ve ever been able to paddle – it is usually at least partly dry land! Today was a first. Grafton Pond has a lot of places where more water makes it much easier to paddle through.

Not yet blue blueberries

Loon with baby on back

Traditionally, ORFS pull out on this large rock to eat lunch. The rock was smaller than usual, with the increased depth of the water, but some people left before eating lunch, and I chose to stay in my kayak to eat. Then one of the women and I went into one of the areas more easily accessed with deeper water, and came to this waterfall coming into the lake.

Then it was back to the launch, loading up and moving out. We were the last two back, but there were still people around to help carry boats and get them on racks. It was a picture perfect day, with enough water to go places easily, enough but not too much sunshine, enough wind for the sailboat, but not too much for kayaking.

Kayaking with ORFS on Lake Todd

Tuesday, August 16: Outdoor Recreation for Seniors was at it again, this time on a smallish lake in central New Hampshire. I got a late start; never having been there before, and with confusing directions, I drove on to what turned out to be a beach, and got stuck. With help from a couple of ORFS pushing, and with floor mats under the drive wheels, we did get it out, parked elsewhere, and me out on the water. Sigh.

There were loons, although not close enough to photograph. The weather was great. This lake has several small islands, and is divided by the bridge for the state highway and a separate snow mobile trail.

This southern part of the lake ends at the dam, and what was probably a mill.

At the northern end of the lake, this farm overlooks us:

I don’t believe these signs – New Hampshire doesn’t have sharks in its lakes, or alligators, and the snakes are shy! And of course, if you are going to be able to read these signs, you are already on or in the water.

Kayaking North Hartland Dam

Tuesday, August 2: Outdoor Recreation for Seniors was out again – on a hot and humid day, when it was good to be on the water!

A flood control area managed by the Corps of Engineers, once one is away from the dam, there are no houses ( except those built by the beavers!), and lots of wildlife.

The phone camera decided that it would do a movie, rather than the photo I wanted – the boom keeping boats away from the dam had at least a dozen turtles on it! And I am unable to post that.

We also saw a Great Blue Heron, by the edge of the water, keeping an eye on a couple of chicks. One person with binoculars thought that at least one chick was a mallard. None of us wanted to go closer, disturbing them to figure it out, and the cell phone did not take a photo worth posting.

Those large lumps in the center tree are eagles, probably immature as they are showing little white.

This was a turn around point for several of us – my seat was feeling unfriendly, some had appointments – and at 7 miles round trip, it’s a long way for some seniors to paddle. But we all had a good time, ate lunch together, and some of us swam in the tepid – but cooler then the air! – water.

ORFS Kayak on the Connecticut River

Tuesday, July 26: Outdoor Recreation for Seniors (ORFS) gathered for our weekly outing, the kayakers heading north on the Connecticut River. Vermont Adaptive Sports went out as we were gathering, taking a group of school age, probably autistic youth, who seemed to have a wonderful time. Using about 10 canoes and kayaks, they were well upriver before I was able to launch – and when I did, I got the inflatable cushion I sit on unevenly under me, so once on the river ended up taking it out. Eventually I caught up with other slow ORFS!

There were lots of ducks – the babies at the launch were catching up on their beauty sleep later.

Actually, except for the vigilant mama, most of the ducks were drowsing in the heat of the day!

ORFS went on and up a small creek near Hanover.

Norwich/Hanover bridge

We returned to the launch after about 5 1/2 miles on the water, and pulled out chairs and sat at the picnic tables to visit over lunch. It was a perfect day, not too windy (although on the nose for our return, of course!), not too hot, not too strenuous.

ORFS Kayaking Goose Pond

Tuesday, July 19: On a beautiful sunny day, Outdoor Recreation for Seniors headed out, most of us first going north to the stream that feeds the three mile long lake. Then out into the main body of the lake, and around an island, through a rock garden, and back to launch. I didn’t do that; I have figured out that it is easier to not have to hassle with parking at the house where we lunch, and I go directly to their small beach. This time I swam and cooled off before heading up the hill to the house with my lunch. One of the highlights of the ORFS calendar for me is that our hosts feed us home made ice cream – half a dozen kinds! I had modest scoops of three of the offerings: Chocolate Butter Crunch (maybe? I don’t remember what candy bar it was based on, but it was really good!), Mint Chocolate Chip (my favorite in general), and Kitchen Sink (vanilla ice cream base packed with lots of yummy chocolate and nut additions). Three modest scoops adds up to a rather immodest serving, and helped provide ballast for the boat on what turned out to be an extremely windy slog back to the launch! Some photos of the day:

A small electric motor on this classic boat

There are as many ways through the rocks as there are paddlers, I think – no one took exactly my route, and nearly all of us kissed a rock or two.

There was at least one loon, which I was never close enough to photograph – except for this one up at the house!

I’m glad I didn’t know that there were snapping turtles this large in the lake, when I was swimming –

And lastly, I might consider this an art shot – had I known I was taking it! I have no idea what it is; I had nothing in the kayak with fibers like that. But it does make a nice mountain!

Kayaking with ORFS at Otter Pond

Tuesday, June 28: Outdoor Recreation for Seniors (ORFS) was out on a small lake, with a brisk wind. It was windy enough that a few of the kayakers opted to walk with the hikers instead. But the conditions were not too bad; one had to work harder to go upwind, but control was easy, and the waves were manageable. It was a beautiful day.

The blueberries are still green, but coming along:

And the Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) was bright along the waters.

The water lilies, both white and yellow, are thick along the shores. There are a lot of insects crawling on all of them.

There were ducks, and a cormorant:

There is one new house – so new it’s not finished yet! And I like the architecture, especially the window echoing the arch. 

Back at our launch point, we ate lunch together, and enjoyed the flowers next to us.