My Cousin Has a Kayak

...one Long Lake, north of Spokane, Washington. Long Lake used to be the Spokane River, Now it's an extended stretch--eight to ten miles maybe--of shoreline and open water. Both are still pretty spectacular, especially from the vantage of a kayak along the shore and marshes. Much of the area directly fronting the property here is lilypad marsh, thick in places with channels for a human powered, shallow draft vessel. I've been out morning and evening the past couple of days. Watched a near full moon lighting up the lake the first night and caught glimpse of it last night. Mornings are truly glorious before the sun hits the lake--cool, still, quiet. Wildlife is scarce, save for bugs, until the sun is on the water. Then flotillas of loons and mud hens paddle out from the thickets and begin feeding among the lilly pads. I've seen a heron in flight close up and heard it's surprisingly crow-like caw as it takes off. Out on the lily pads, it stands and watches, sometimes grooming itself. The first night out I saw five osprey, two at flying together at one point, They fly effortlessly, low to the water when hunting. One dove and wrestled with something for a while but came up empty. For a summer Saturday, the lake is surprisingly quiet. My counsin's lakefront property also comes with a power boat but I prefer the kayak.

That's what I'm doing instead of blogging.