Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Abbynormal Spa Time---


When our children were young and I still home schooled
 them, my friend Kate and I found the need to get out and
 get rejuvenated every couple of weeks. We would plan
our different escapes over the phone. Most women think
of going to spas or movies to be rejuvenated, not us, we
were going kayaking! The night before our outing, I
would load the kayaks. Then I would rise at 3am the next
 day. I would make a checklist for my older children, load
the rest of my gear, and be at Kate’s by 4am. To create
the atmosphere of tranquility on the drive out I would put
 in one of my nature or bird sound CDs. Sometimes we
would talk, yet sometimes we would just be content to be
 quiet and listen to the relaxing sounds. Upon arriving at
the lake, about dawn, we would unload the kayaks then
we would spend a couple of hours paddling around the
quite coves. There is something very relaxing and peaceful
 about being on the lake at sunrise; the dawn of a new day,
when the birds are singing and fish are jumping. We
always brought our binoculars along to try to identify the
 different birds. We sat in our kayaks and watched the
male birds do their version of “Swan Lake” to impress the
females. We saw herons standing around on one leg like
statues. There were cormorants, grebes and different types
of ducks. One particular type of water bird was very noisy
 and always kept their distance making them hard to
 identify, and as our time had run out, we loaded up the
 kayaks to head home to our families. I started the
engine then got ready to put it in gear when all of a
sudden we heard the water birds very loudly, very near
the van. We both started looking all around and out our
 windows, it was a very eerie feeling looking for
something that loud and close and not being able to
find it. It was as if they were there in the van with us!
Then almost at the same time, we both remembered
the bird CD that was still in the CD player. It was playing!
 What were the odds of the same bird sound playing in
my van that we were trying to identify on the lake!
We got a much-needed laugh out of the situation, and
came home refreshed and ready to start a new day.
Summer of 1999 (Picture of my friend Kate on one of our

trips)

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