Plans weren't working out. We had a trouble finding a campsite and had no sleep. My partner was complaining and had been very negative the whole trip. The child just wanted a playground. We were in the Indian Lake area and I was feeling very frustrated for many reasons. I just wanted to climb a mountain, relax and camp by a lake and of course do a lot of photography. I gave in to the child thinking of it has a compromise let him play then climb Climb Chimney Mountain in the afternoon. We stopped at the Byron Recreational area. I shoved my husband off in his kayak in hopes he'd return with a better attitude. Our child played on the playground for a while and then got bored so I grabbed his sand toys out of the car which he enjoyed. My husband returned happy and excited. He had encountered a family of loons that had swam right up to him and calling to each other. He had wanted for us to all go out but in typical fashion our son refused. Instead of getting my kayak down off the car I just borrowed my husbands which no longer tracks properly due to too much time on the car. I got an extremely rare 45 minutes to myself, to breathe and do something I love......wildlife photography! I followed my husbands advice hence avoiding getting stuck on rocks. A Blue Heron landed to fish near an island so I took a few shots. Later it flew over me again. I paddled out and saw some ducks that quickly disappeared behind one of the islands. As I continued on boat traffic picked up making it even harder to control the kayak. I heard a loon in the near distances and headed toward the opposite shore. Sure enough there next to someone in a kayak was a loon. I paddled a little closer but not too much as I was working with the 400 mm prime lens. One loon was fishing and another was swimming with a little brown fluff ball! I observed them and it seemed every time I had a shot lined up the boat would spin around on me. The folks who came out to water-ski weren't helpful but at least someone was having fun. It was feeding time for the loons! I slowly followed them across the lake observing them catching crayfish and feeding their chick. They were really wonderful parents! At one point the the fishing loon did swim up close to me and yodel. It then floated out a short ways cleaning itself and while I was focusing on it, the loon spread its wings and sat up filling the the whole frame and then some (Oops, just a bit too close). It is amazing how many of those crayfish the baby loon ate!
Eventually I paddled back to the family. We put the kayak back on the car, had a quick picnic lunch and headed off for Chimney Mountain. Our son fell asleep in the car and was not willing to wake up. No mountain climbing for us. So off to the Cedar River end of the Moose River Plains we went. to try to find camp. Nothing was available at Cedar River but the clouds overhead were moody. I took some photos and the rain began to fall so we opted to just go home. Nothing seemed to work out but knowing how much my husband hates being out in the rain I feel like God said here is a small blessing and sent a bunch of roadblocks to keep us safe. It rained all night, Sunday was beautiful and my heart once again ached for the mountains much too far away! |
Julie MetottNature Photographer, wife, mother, lover of outdoor adventure! Archives
November 2022
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