Through the Keyhole

October 2, 2020

I set out with M on cool and very calm day with a sky that was overcast and sprinkling rain every now and then. I dipped my fingers in the water and found it a good ten degrees warmer than the air.  That contrast made it feel like bath water even though it was not that warm.  There was a beautiful low fog on the water as a result.  

We cross over and follow the west side of the river for no other reason than that I haven't followed that shoreline before.  We stay close to shore so that we can both watch the river and peer into the forest. We wear our rain jackets knowing that to take them off will cause an immediate deluge.

A mature Bald Eagle flies past.  We spot a whitetail doe.  Great Blue Herons are sighted regularly and often unusually close.

It rains in earnest for a few minutes so we take a short break on a small island. 

Six miles out we pass through Lovers Leap, a narrow 1/2 mile canyon that I imagine was once fairly fast water before the dam backed the waters.  We tuck ourselves into the mouth of the Still River, just to show M where it is, then we head back through the canyon and turn into a long narrow cove to see what is there.

A large and sturdy culvert turns out to be a gate to a beautiful narrow and tightly meandering creek that anchors a lush wetland hidden in a narrow valley.  We manage a few hundred yards until we get to a place where we would have to wade some and as we are also at a spot where the creek is a bit wider than the length of the canoe we retrace our path with the idea of coming back when there is a few more inches of water.

After a short break we return following the eastern shoreline.  The clouds drift off and the day becomes sunny with that perfect autumn light  We spot a second white tail doe, then a flock of a half dozen Flickers, and a mile or so later a white tail yearling that had come down to the river for a drink.