I Positively Giggled Like a Schoolgirl!

In the morning, after a restful night's sleep, I awoke to a peaceful, Wind free morning.  Our campfire wishes came true. Wind stuck to his end of the negotiation, and  decided to let us have a calm, still morning.  The water in Elkwater Lake was mirror like and beckoned me to get out of bed and go... you guessed it.....KAYAKING!

I dashed out of bed, tidied up, grabbed a nectarine and some blueberries, guzzled down some water at the picnic table outside and sat and dreamed and waited patiently for about an hour for someone in my camper to get up!  I was worried that at any moment Wind would decide that he had been patient enough and would pop out and begin playing with nature.  I couldn't take it any more, so I snuck inside and said, " Wakey, wakey, who is going to get up and kayak with me?  The lake is a still as can be, and the day is a wastin'!"

Silence...

Sigh...

Finally, after what seemed a life time, which was probably only a few seconds, I am worse than a kid on Christmas morning, my husband groggily said,"I will."

"Yippee!" I cheered.

By 7:30 am, we were on the water in our kayaks.

The night before, my husband said that he wondered why his dad never took him to certain parts of the lake when he was a kid.  I also said that I couldn't remember going there either.  So guess what we did?  We kayaked to those parts.  We now know why we never went in those spots with our dad's boats.  The areas are very shallow and weedy.  Bad spots for boats and fishing, but perfect for kayaks!

The first area we visited was clearly across the lake where we were camping. Gulp, that was the farthest I would have to venture and it was in open water, not a small pond that I have been practising in. I was determined to not show any apprehension, but instead curiosity and strength!



                      

The banks have eroded and have revealed many surprises. With Sun filling our eyes and the landscape in the East, it was hard to see what I was photographing with my iPhone.  Remember from a previous post that I won't take my expensive camera on the kayak with me because of an earlier underwater camera god incident?  Sorry for the white glares.  I edited them the best I could.

There were many swallow holes in the banks and hundreds of them performed an aerial show for us as a flock of ducks flew overhead.  I was surprised to see all of the silver sage, wild roses, wild bee balm (aka wild bergamot, or horsemint).  

Traditionally, sage brush leaves were chewed to relieve thirst by Native people. They also would touch the leaves and then rub the perfume on their bodies to disguise their scent from the animals when they hunted. 

Native people also  utilized both rose hips and bergamot for teas.  Rose hips are high in vitamin C. The warm tea and leaves are said to relieve morning sickness, and when given during childbirth, it was to have a relaxing effect.  Native people also placed rose branches around the home of a deceased person to prevent ghosts from returning and haunting the home. The bergamot was used to treat colds, fevers, pneumonia and stomach and kidney ailments. They used the dried leaves and flowers as perfume. Clever, huh?

Another mystery was solved that day.  I had always admired the lonesome trees standing in the distance, and always imagined them to be a deciduous tree of some sort, because of their rounded heads.  When we got close enough, I was amazed to discover that they were coniferous trees, spruce trees!  Usually they are triangular shaped, and I was shocked to learn they grew rounded!

Sun was now wide awake and felt like playing with the water and cliffs.  The light danced on the cliff side, changing patterns and making designs.  My husband and I were really in synchronization with our thinking on this morning.  Just after I took a video and photos of the dancing light, he asked me if I had noticed the light on the cliff side!

The white horizontal lines on the side of this cliff are actually rays on light dancing and reflecting off of the water and are not part of the land.

Here is a video to show you the dance:

Another in-sync moment we had was further down the lake.  We came upon a reed bed.  The water laid at rest, Sun rising in the east, and the magical and artistic reflection of the reeds was alluring to me!  Time halted for me as I floated unmoving, wondering what it would be like to kayak through the reeds.

Suddenly, we were both headed for the reeds and my husband was heading INTO the REEDS!  I thought, why not! 

 Once inside, surrounded by reeds hovering about a metre above my head, bending and reaching, teasing and tickling me and my kayak, and not able to see clearly through the reeds, I positively began to giggle like a schoolgirl!

Once through the reed jungle, my husband questioned why I was giggling.  I revealed that I was so happy to be with him on such a beautiful morning, and that he had just read my mind about going through the reeds, and within a second, he was in the reeds and I was following him!  That made me giddy!

We kayaked through another reed bed even more dense than this one, and once again, I giggled like a school girl.  It doesn't take much to amuse me when I am with nature!

I am so fortunate to have such a supportive hubby!  I will never forget this morning kayaking with him!  After two hours, our arms were starting to get sore and Wind's patience had been fully tested.  He couldn't wait any longer, and began to water play before we arrived back to shore!  I felt more brave and strong, confident and loved that morning, and it was so wonderful to have been kayaking in open water with a man I really love and appreciate!

It felt so grand to giggle and feel so daring and free! We need to go on more dates!  Don't tell him, but I have more kayaking planned soon!  Heehee! Giggle giggle!