#FrameItFriday (week 26 season 3)
#FrameItFriday (week 25 season 3)
Sorry I'm late but like I said the other day.....I had to have a wee escape, go off the grid so to speak. Sounds intense but I wasn't completely off grid, let's be honest.
I wanted to be elsewhere on the 1st anniversary (anniversary, do you call it that?) of my mum's passing. I can't explain how I was feeling but I knew I needed to change things up, even if it was only for a day. I delayed my escape by a day so that my husband could join me. He's been at his desk pretty much since March 11th. He needed the break as well.
So.....I set my alarm for 3:45am (yes THAT early) and at 4am we set off with a packed lunch, kayaks and our gear (including fancy shmancy bug hoodies). I'd researched Algonquin Park back country paddling routes and found one that would suit our timeline. There wasn't going to be an overnighter, we'd be coming home on the same day. For those of you wondering we drove to the Tim River Access #2 located on the far midwest section of Algonquin Provincial Park.
Rivers and cameras can be daunting. I wanted smooth, gentle waters to paddle so we could somewhat easily shoot any wildlife we happened upon. I had a mental list of what I really, really, really wanted to see, hopefully, maybe, possibly (saying it out loud on your way there jinxes you). I was looking to see the obvious, moose & baby, bull moose, Loons & babies, Mergansers and babies...babies. It's a long shot, all of it in 1 day. I mean the park is not a zoo (except for people on the main drag). You don't just paddle around "here's a bull moose, doing it's thing". You stumble upon them by a fluke or you see absolutely nothing. There's no guarantees. BUT it's surprising what you come across when you're paddling when you thing "it's just a bunch of reeds".
Thankfully there was enough of a breeze in the morning it ward off pesky mosquitoes and deer flies. The dragonflies were abundant and gorging on them all around the lake. That meant they left us alone except for the occasional solo buzzer about our head. They got the paddle or the bug spray.
Ok, I don't want this to turn into a novel but here's the down low on the day. Heard and saw lots of bullfrogs, saw 2 moose, Loons (one on a nest), a solo Merganser duck at least 4 times, a raging Raven, leeches, huge tadpoles, dragonflies galore, butterflies and a couple of turtles.
As the day went on, the wind died down, the bugs began to pester. The temperature soared so after a delicious picnic lunch, a glorious plunge in the lake, we paddled back to our car after six hours of paddling. Seems crazy that we did 10 hours of driving to paddle for 6 hours of paddling but no, it was sooooo worth it.
I'll be posting some pictures over the next week of what we saw. The Merganser in the photo fled from us on at least 4 occasions. Initially I stumbled on him napping on a mossy log in the back of a quiet little bay. I missed that shot because we startled each other. He/she took off never to be seen until, what? Next little bay! Settling down for a nap, take 2 and along comes me. Repeat 2 more times....this shot was the last I saw of him...it's not the greatest but you get the idea....
I wish I had more time but I'll take what I can get for now. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to spend some time in a beautiful place with my husband, my mum (in my necklace) and a few 1,000 dragonflies protecting us along the way....next time I'll remember to put some sunscreen on my face too! I hope you are all well. Peace, love and kumbaya Heather
#BetterLateThanNever #PhotoBlog #KayakCameraGirl #AlgonquinPark#AlgonquinBackCountry #HeatherCardlePhotographer
PS- YES we stopped at Webers on the way home.