Lover's Leap

I put in just below the four span truss bridge, the only bridge for ten miles in either direction. The day is overcast, something like 70F, and with a very light wind coming down the river. There is an unusual number of people about in either fishing kayaks or pontoon boats. There is a kayak fishing tournament and the pontoon boats are taking part in river clean-up day. 

I cross the river and follow the river-right shoreline. Just a third of a mile up, I find a white tail deer tucked in along the bank. It's missing some hair on the side and it doesn't flee when I get close, so it might be sick. If it's still there when I return, I'll call it in to the state. Not much farther on, I spot four Canada Geese herding six goslings. The young are probably 10-14 days old. And, a half mile up from them, I find a pair of Geese with 3 goslings that can't be more than a few days old. Otherwise, I spot a Kingfisher here and there and a Great Blue Heron once in awhile. I do flush a second white tail. It takes two leaps up the hill before stopping to see what I am. I pass by and it returns to the midday business of digesting whatever it ate this morning. Deer bed move and feed in the mornings and evenings, and they bed down in midday, focusing their energy and blood circulation on digesting the rather woody material they're eating.

I find a Swan nest on the island just below Lover's Leap.

Lover's Leap is a narrow gorge in a high ridge that the river passes through. Before this section of the river was dammed, there was a ten foot waterfall somewhere in the gorge. This made for a productive fishing spot and the local archaeology shows that Native Americans lived in this locale starting not too long after the Ice Age glaciers retreated. I don't know where the actual sites are, but the terrain would be suitable both below and above the gorge.

I paddle through the gorge and as far as the mouth of the Still River before turning back. Just across from the gorge, I stop and chat with a guy who is trying to keep Geese off of his shoreline grass. He has some fake Owls that don't work - I fill him in on just how good birds are at recognizing other birds. Of course, Canada Geese aren't particularly afraid of Owls or Eagles because tangling with an adult Goose is a good way to break a wing, which is, of course, a fatal injury. I continue on down following the river-left shoreline.

I get a lucky spot, finding an immature Bald Eagle in a tall and wide background of forest. 

I cross the river to check on that first deer, but it has moved off, a bit of a hopeful sign.