Louisiana Belle: lake martin

Showing posts with label lake martin. Show all posts

Monday, July 27, 2015

Peaceful Paddle

Late one evening at the end of June, my friend Theresa and I, drove to my favorite place to kayak: Lake Martin. She was taking a lesson from Pack and Paddle, so I hitched a ride with her.

Kayaking relatively late in the evening - 5:45 to 7:45 - was a most pleasant experience. Since I was alone (Theresa was with the P&P group), I stayed in the open areas instead of paddling through the abundant cypress. Alligators were croaking, but thankfully I never saw any. Being alone and mostly floating, I was able to get pretty close to the wildlife. A great experience!

Great Egret

Charming sign in the lake. Many people hate that the lake has become so touristy,
but it doesn't bother me.

American Lotus or Yellow Lotus

Male Anhinga drying his wings.

Male Anhinga vocalizing.

Female Anhinga

Tourists

Juvenile Little Blue Heron eating grub worms from the lily pads.

Female Red-winged Blackbird trying to scare me away or warn the others.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Flipped!

March 25, 2015 is a kayaking day I will not soon forget. It was a perfect day weather-wise, so I was pumped.

After getting settled in my kayak, the first thing I spied were three juvenile alligators sunning on two different logs as I paddled toward my friend. No biggie. After that I didn't see too many more gators, but did hear and see Prothonotary Warblers, Yellow-throated Warblers, Northern Parulas, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Osprey (a new lifer!), Pileateds, Little Blue Herons, Great Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, and Great Blue Herons. There were more, but those were the highlights.

So we kayaked for three hours and decided we'd had enough. Cathy went down to the bank to get out and I went to the deck at the rental place to drop off the kayak. Several times I tried to hoist my big patootie up and over the deck. Sitting inside the kayak you're pretty level with the water, and the deck is a good foot higher. No one was there to hold the kayak against the deck for stability so it was going to be a huge challenge. Finally, I said to myself, "Don't think about it. Just do it!" Splash! The kayak flew away from me and I went down.

I blame Nike.

So there I was flapping in the water, fully clothed, still unable to pull myself onto the deck. Meanwhile the kayak was floating away. But who cares about that when there are gators in the water??? Anyway, I finally pulled my sopping wet self onto the deck by the grace of God. It was more like clawing, then flopping over like a beached whale. Ay yi yi! Was I a sight. The boat rental lady felt so bad when I told her what happened. She asked why I didn't call for help. I have no idea why I didn't holler. Maybe I was afraid of calling attention to fresh meat in the water. Anyway, I did have the foresight to put my camera and phone on the deck before all the drama!

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Osprey carrying twigs to the nest.

Linking up with...

Thanks, Anni!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Birthday Paddle

The month of May is crazy for the Dixon household. Double D's birthday falls during the first week of May; mine is the next week; and Mother's Day comes somewhere before, after, or ON my birthday. While Double D wanted to kick up his heels in The Quarter for his big day, I was perfectly content to paddle on Lake Martin for my birthday. The highlights for me were the Black-crowned Night Heron and Barn Swallows.

Before kayaking, however, I had to have some nutrition! My grandparents' used to love Pat's Fisherman's Wharf in Henderson, LA. Thankfully, it was on the way to the lake. I had not been there since I was a child, and I'm happy to report that it hasn't changed a bit. The food was as wonderful as I remembered. We got there way past lunch time, so that's why there aren't a lot of people. Just the way I like it.

You can see from my expanding mid-section that I ate every single bite of my shrimp platter.
I was then presented with this delicious, SINFUL slice of doberge cake and serenaded by our waitress.
We pronounce the cake DOUGH-bahj. Some say DOUGH-bearj.
Here is a more thorough history and a recipe of the famous cake.

I made fast friends with Emilean, our waitress. We Facebooked each other right then and there!
She made my day extra special. Not only did she give me extra shrimp AND a piece of cake,
she shared a personal experience that helped me tremendously concerning panic attacks.
It was one of those God-things, y'all.

Now, on to the show!

Water Hyacinth

Double D paving the way.

I learned that when gators are resting with their mouths open, they are cooling off since they
don't have sweat glands. Whew, good to know!

Black-crowned Night Heron

DD was after the Prothonotary Warbler and the Northern Parula

Prothonotary Warbler

So, that was my big day!

Thank you, Anni for hosting

Click the link for more birds around the world!

Monday, June 1, 2015

Muddy Waters

It's not very often I have a chance to photograph the Barn Swallow. They usually hang around marinas and piers, swooping over the waters at breakneck speeds, making it impossible to capture them with my camera. On May 14th, however, several stopped by a muddy area at Lake Martin, giving me ample opportunity for some shots. I assumed they were digging for insects.