Saturday, October 06, 2012

A day on the river


Leaving the dock on Thornapple Lake
 The trees seemed to be changing earlier this year, probably as a result of the drought that has stressed many trees this summer.  With the weather turning cold and the leaves falling, it was time to get out on a river and enjoy the fleeting beauty of the fall season.  The day threatened rain, clouding over then opening up with sun which made the trees all the more glorious.  We saw a flock of wood ducks, flying just over our heads, along with a variety of other ducks and Canadian geese, all which made a splash when they took off in front of us.  Then they were the a few Great Blue Herons.  Unlike the ducks and geese, they take flight in a stealthy silent manner, flying a bend or two down river and reliving the experience again and again, until they finally fly behind us. 

when the sun came out, everything was brilliant

reflections in the water

 I took with me Daya, a colleague from Taiwan who is working with me for five weeks.  He’d never been in a canoe but was a quick learner.   We made good time, actually excellent time considering that we had a stiff headwind.  Daya isn’t Han (Chinese), but a member of the Tayan tribe, one of the indigenous groups on Taiwan.  Although he now lives in Taipei, he grew up in the mountains and is comfortable outdoors.  He has hunted with darts and speared fish.  I was amazed at his eyes at spotting fish darting along in the murky water.   We saw a few turtles sunning themselves, an abandon hornet’s nest, a downy woodpecker, a number of kingfishers and a nighthawk.  And then there were plenty of turkey buzzards, dozens of them.  I’m not sure all they were after but we did see one dead deer, a young buck with two spikes, probably a victim of Blue Tongue disease which has taken its toll of deer recently.
A turtle enjoying the sun
Hornet's nest

13 comments:

  1. very cool...bet he had a great time out on the canoe with you...cool on some of the things you see esp when you are just gliding through and they dont hear you coming...

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  2. these last few years I've thought to get a canoe but all the rivers about here are festooned with weirs. And since I don't know if they will mount them like a kayak the schlepping through towns would be a proper pest.
    A very lively spot.

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  3. Sage: I too have noticed the trees changing quickly as well. A cool trip!

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  4. It's all quite foreboding, iddin it?

    :-)

    Pearl

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  5. Loved that third picture of the reflections on the water. I would blow it up, frame it and hang it on the wall somewhere.

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  6. How wonderful that you were able to show Daya a lovely time on the water. Love that reflections shot.

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  7. This was siiiiiiick. You should check out the song "Box of Wine" by my band Terminally Ill on my blog about them. You will love it I swear!

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  8. Sounds like a beautiful and interesting day! A fair number of those geese will be wintering in my area. Every winter, it seems like more and more of them are calling it home....

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  9. I really like your "reflections in the water" photo. I hope that you don't mind my taking a copy for my art file. . .

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  10. My goodness, so beautiful, so peaceful...

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  11. Fall seemed to come overnight here. But then, I suppose it always does.

    My grandmother used to have an (abandoned) hornets nest hanging in her kitchen, as decor I guess.

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  12. Truly, reflections on the water you should expand and make available for art works. I copied it and printed it on small scale and it never fails to impress -- nice colors.

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