Lakes Maitland, Nina, and Minnehaha

 

I had thoughts of going to Rock Springs Run this morning, before work, but stayed up to late.  Woke a bit after 7, and if I got out of bed, I could have got to Wekiwa Springs State Park and got a 3 hour paddle in. But, I was tired, and have a big weekend coming up, so I stayed in bed.

On the water just after 8:30.

Osprey (1)   As I did with Sunday's Hillsborugh River paddle, I'm going to keep track of how many different animals I photoed.  It's won't be 25, but a 2 hour 15 minute paddle resulted in 95 pictures.  Of course, 50 of them are anhingas and wood ducks.

Anhinga (2)

Tri colored heron (3)

Wood duck (4)

Red winged black bird (5)

Turtle (6)

Green heron

Ibis (7)

Green heron

Moorhen (8)

Boat-tailed_Grackle ? (9)

Great blue heron (10)

Snowy egret (11)

Mallard (12)

How do I know its not a mottled duck? Here's how.

Common grackles (13)

Great egret (14)

Limpkin (15)

Limpkin chick

This will sound like a broken record, but I have never kayaked these Lakes in such low water. I know they have been lower, at the turn of the millennium, but this is as low as they have been in my experience, which began in 2005.  This is the storm drain in the Horatio Ave bridge.

Shallowest section was just past the covered bridge, and here, near Lake Nina, where bottom sediments float on the surface. And this was after some heavy thunderstorms at my house, less then 2 miles away, Tuesday night.  The airport, 15 miles away, reported .36 inches

Squirrel(16)

Paddling towards Dog Island, Lake Maitland. It drizzle for a while, then stopped.

I paddled to the cypress trees that mark the Maitland-Winter Park border.  To add cormorants to the list. 

Because there are aways cormorants on the border cypress

But not today

Landed at 10:45. The Wednesday morning paddle boarders were not illegally parked. Wonder if she got a ticket, or read Dave's Yak Tales.

The drought may be over.  Lots of rain all day, official total, almost two inches.

This weekend could be the first since October 2008 that I have not kayaked.  Another wedding. My niece, Becky. Headed to the so-called "Bay Area" Not Whitefish, or Green, or even Tampa, but San Francisco.  I may be able to get on the water Saturday.  Stay tuned.

I will be on the water Monday, back in Florida.  I see it as a good way to recover from jet lag after I get home around 2 am.