Where’s Griet? High tide at Marshlands Conservancy. Griet takes a pic of us taking a pic through the salt marsh spartina. See more interpretations of this week’s Photo Challenge: Dense 🙂 🙂
Weekly Photo Challenge
Bea’s Avocet weathers the wintry mix. But why let a nor’easter stop you? There’s plenty to do indoors while you watch icicles melt! Like, practicing staying right-side-up in a racing kayak. We’re inspired by this video, “Core Stability and Balance Progression For Kayakers” i.e., staying atop a balance ball without smashing your head into that bigscreen TV behind you! Click for awesome video by kayaker Ivy K:
P.S. We are getting better at this… stay tuned for our own video, albeit with different music and padded surroundings. 🙂 🙂
I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
—John Masefield, Sea Fever: Selected Poems
This photo is from last summer, at Olympic National Park; Washington. Wish we were there! See more interpretations of this week’s photo challenge, Wish 🙂 🙂
May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
May hope forever wipe away your tears,
And, above all, may silence make you strong.
—Chief Dan George
See more photos from this week’s challenge: Solitude.
Talk about using your friends! Felix readjusts his footpegs mid-paddle and needs to be outside of the boat to do it. Five kayaks become one “raft.” See more interpretations of this week’s Photo Challenge: repurpose.
For some reason, people assume we’ve hung up our paddles by now. Or trade them for skis (not gonna happen!). In fact, winter is the most magical time to paddle—as gal pal and fellow blogger, Julie, aka Kayak Cowgirl, demonstrates here: Hudson River, near Spuyten Duyvil. (Click for video)
This week’s photo challenge is new horizons. Perhaps wintertime kayaking belongs on yours? 🙂 🙂
Home, chaotic home. 10.15.16 Kayak-camping on Shea Island (just us geeks) after paddling from home, slightly-more-organized home, 20NM away. A late start and high winds made the slogging tough—and our sleeping bags that much cozier.
There’s order in the universe. Did you know that you can tell the air temperature just by listening? All you need are crickets! They slow down in autumn (like the rest of us), but their chirps are spot on. Here’s how we knew the nighttime temperature outside our tent was 45°F:
To convert cricket chirps to degrees Fahrenheit Count number of chirps in 14 seconds then add 40 to get temperature. (Example: 30 chirps + 40 = 70° F)
To convert cricket chirps to degrees Celsius Count number of chirps in 25 seconds, divide by 3, then add 4 to get temperature. (Example: 48 chirps ÷ 3 + 4 = 20° C)
Alex makes tracks for the loo
Deer made tracks last night!
See more interpretations of this week’s photo challenge 🙂 🙂
A fresh one. Thanks to Marcy and Eliot, dear friends who spotted “Elmo” in Coney Island facing away from the ocean (amidst the ever-blase New Yorkers)!
Kayakers are “cloudspotters.” Ordinarily, gazing up at the heavens gives us our weather report. But this Florida Keys sunset took our breath away. Virga—wispy ice crystals falling through high winds, in the lower right of the frame—predict deterioration of the weather. (Got that right! More on our recent 110-mile paddle from Key Largo to Key West coming up…) Another classic case of clouds imitating art: This exhibit ranged from Albrecht Durer’s grey “Winged Man Playing a Lute” to Chagall’s fiery “Sarah and the Angels” and back again. 🙂
Drawing perfect circles is a challenge for us—but not for nature. Pics from our kayaks (#1: July 4 raindrops in Piermont Marsh, NY) and Jorge’s (the rest: August 2015 Maine Kayak Regatta and our camp on Butter Island in Penobscot Bay, Maine.)
2 Geeks @ 3 Knots 