Yakkity Yak

This outing turned out to be quite different than I had intended. Usually when I visit the Somo River, I hit some of the backwaters and side channels, but also go up the main channel until I can’t continue. Like the Spirit river, it narrows, gets more rocky, too shallow and fast to keep going. This time, however, I spent the whole outing here –

Well not at that exact spot, but in this backwater where a creek feeds in and it feels removed from the whole business of being a river.

More like a pond or lake. And because the water has been so high this year with all the rain, I could get past a point I couldn’t before. I think beavers were shoring up some natural stopping points, but I’ve never been able to get over them until now. It probably won’t last, but I really loved being back in this little world where probably few people have ever been.

Just me and the birds and dragonflies. And something larger in the water that I caught the movement of out of the corner of my eye. Just for a second there was a ripple and a roll of something…a big turtle? A beaver? An otter? A muskie? LOL. Not that last one, but something big anyway. Just one swoosh and it was gone.

Marsh Cinquefoil – a VERY hard flower to photograph since it is a sprawling, messy plant and is mostly found in marshes (duh!) and other wetlands. So in the kayak you see them a lot, but it’s hard to get into a decent position. This is one of my better attempts. The closed buds remind me of tomatillos.

Just sitting in the kayak, observing and waiting for whatever comes along, it was here that I indulged one of my other obsessions, but I’ll save that for another post.

Rose pogonia was blooming all over – it’s kind of a shy little orchid, but I like this shot of one. In retrospect I probably should have used the longest tele zoom since I had to crop quite a bit here. Maybe next year when they bloom again. And speaking of blooming, Watershield was doing its thing all over –

The leaves literally cover the water and the flowers don’t rise up much above. Wish I’d picked some cleaner leaves for this next shot. Is that poop or eggs or what? LOL.

Not only is this place full of flowers, but turtles love it here. I’ve only ever seen Painted turtles, but I’ll take them. They are so wonderful and terrific climbers, too. Check these guys out!

They’re only 3 or 4 inches long and so colorful. Determined little critters. They all seemed to be craving the sun and heat –

This last one had a buddy behind him on that log, but it bailed out on me. Funny how some are so much braver than others. This one just gave me ‘the look’. Lots of feathers here, too, but I didn’t see any ducks. I hardly ever do here. I suspect they see me coming and fly off before I even realize.

By this time, I could feel something was … off and I wasn’t feeling too terrific anymore. Gastric issues as it would turn out and I was pretty happy that I hadn’t paddled all the way up river since it takes a couple hours. I probably could have come back pretty quickly if I worked at it, but … well, the less said about that the better. Here’s what I had the presence of mind to shoot while trying to assess my situation –

Pretty serene on the outside, but I really did have to get back to the car. I even felt a little dizzy now and again. Nothing too major, but enough to get me moving. For a bit.

Who could just paddle past this guy?

And rewarded with a tiny crayfish –

This might be the very same Great Blue Heron I chase here every year. Not sure how territorial they are or if they roam farther, wider and more randomly. Nevertheless, I always see a heron here, but don’t always have the chance to photograph it. Sometimes because it’s just too far into the weeds and is basically a slightly grayish streak in the green. Sometimes because it gets scared and flies. This time I varied my approach and had success (so did the bird!).

Instead of trying to go in for a photo when I first noticed it, I paddled by through a lot of plants in order to give it a pretty wide berth. It watched, wary but unmoving, as I passed by, barely even looking in its direction. Staying in its sightline, I photographed turtles and flowers and basically just ignored it. A few minutes later I went around the bend and deeper into the backwater. It’s possible that this reassured it that I wasn’t a threat even though I was a stranger and a human. When I came back out it had moved, but let me get quite close in the clearest part of the water instead of having to paddle through all the waterlilies and other plants. Maybe it was just intent on getting a meal, but I was happy to get this chance even though I was in a hurry to get to the car. Miracle the shots came out because I really rushed through them. Technology saved me I’m sure with the image stabilization and animal detection focus. Phew!

My wave of weird illness was brief and left me a day or so later, no permanent damage. I am glad I stayed near the boat launch though and didn’t have to yak in the ‘yak.