Desperate Measures

I stole the title "Desperate Measures" from my friend Pam, who is using the same title to post a photo of me (1st picture) taking a picture of the dragonfly using my camera phone. ( We both belong to a photosharing site called My Park Photos, which is an international site for parks all over the world.) She found it amusing, not that I broke my camera, but that I had to resort to my cheesy camera phone to capture a dragonfly, while kayaking yesterday. I found it funny, that I actually let the dragonfly land on me, cuz I have yet to be cured of my bugphobia. Anything for a photo, I guess, although It did freak me out, but I made my sacrifice. Anyhow, I was her photo whore on our trip. We would paddle along various lakes within Mazonia Fish and Wildlife Area, and the Green Herons were what we found most appealing. If I spotted one, I would signal, let her take advantage of position, hold her in place, or nudge her forward. If the Heron was hidden, I would go in first, and if he flushed, she could snap off some flight shots. (Thats right folks, I'm a really good friend.)

Kayaking is the coolest thing I have done in a really long time. We explored all kinds of small lakes not normally accessed, with our small crafts. We could sneak through the reeds if they were thin enough, or go through reed tunnels as small as 3 feet wide into larger lakes. The different perspective of this area from our kayaks told us exactly where we were, even though by lake, we should have been lost. We weaved all over in every direction in the maze of lakes, but knowing Mazonia so well, we had our landmarks from a different point of view. We didn't see a whole bunch of wildlife, but we did see a beaver, muskrats, green herons, great blue herons, a tern, seagulls, a water snake, red-winged blackbirds protecting their nests, cedar waxwings, fish jumping, baby ducks hiding in the reeds, (2 beer bottles-Aarg! Stop it people! ) and plenty of dragonflies. The water was turquoise (as most strip mines are) and clear. The privacy and peacefulness you get from the lack of "city noise" really makes you appreciate the entire experience. My journey has just begun; I can't wait to find another lake of lakes. My new obsession is to venture into every lake and see everything I cannot see from the paths and roads of Mazonia, and then venture to new waterways, as my skills develop. Hopefully, the long awaited return of my repaired camera will make it even sweeter.