Photos A Walk in Nature

[CelloDan]

At anchor at this very moment in a secluded and very peaceful spot, a sanctuary in nature.
Solo trip.
My 90th night aboard Serena since the day we got her.
I am in my happy place

Lunch

At anchor for the night in good company

Good night folks

 

[Just Tom.]

At anchor at this very moment in a secluded and very peaceful spot, a sanctuary in nature.

At anchor for the night in good company

You are truly blessed to be able to enjoy these peaceful moments in nature, Dan. Thank you so much for sharing them with us .

 

[CelloDan]

You are truly blessed to be able to enjoy these peaceful moments in nature, Dan. Thank you so much for sharing them with us .

Gracias Tom
I am happy you like the outdoor experiences that I’ve shared.
I do enjoy my therapy sessions with nature.

The boat knife you kindly sent me is having fun

Yesterday’s meal

Early this morning at 2 am I was woken up by a very bright full moon shining inside Serena’s cabin thru the companionway door.

It painted the surrounding water and trees with a spectacular silver glow
( which my phone pictures do not do it justice)

 

[CelloDan]

Last day of my solo trip.
It’s a bit cold and I am a bit tired. I woke up with a little headache but 3 cups of Yerba Mate and a couple Tylenols took care of it.

Yesterday’s breakfast
Disclaimer: If you watch this video you’ll never get those 5 min of your life back

I don’t know which one is bigger, the bait or the “baited” one

Last evening

 

[RLB0414]

Beautiful country and photos. The water looks inviting for a top water bait.
Thank you for sharing these

At anchor at this very moment in a secluded and very peaceful spot, a sanctuary in nature.
Solo trip.
My 90th night aboard Serena since the day we got her.
I am in my happy place

Lunch

At anchor for the night in good company

Good night folks

Awesome photos.
Thank you for sharing your trip photos

 

[RayseM]

Man oh Man, Brother Dan, I would love to share another water trip with you. I’m thinking on a way ... Not to mess up your Solos or SWEETHEART trips - just to give you another excuse to get out on the water.

Here are a few walk abouts ~

This is at Cape Cod. For the past 60+ years my friends report, that from this same vantage point - a porch on a dune shack - (20+ seasons that I have witnessed myself) we could not see the water for the sand dunes. Last summer for the first time, there was a blue line along the horizon just above the dunes.

This summer Shifting sands of time - you might say...



Closer to home - I saw this guy on the trail ~



And this tree drama ~


And a LORIEN Albatross knife on a “ DINNER ROLL” (starter polypore)

 

[Just Tom.]

This morning I took the Green Heron out for the first time this season. I’m sure I already posted pictures of this launch-point before, but here it is again:

Headed out into the Potomac:

I’m keeping good company, too:

The river was fairly high and fast, and I struggled to make any headway poling upstream. There were places over shoals and around obstructions where I almost didn’t make it.

This is far as I got, in over an hour of heavy exertion, just a little over a mile upstream:

Here is the same stretch of river last August, for comparison:

I saw a Bald Eagle, what I think was a juvenile Bald Eagle, and a Red-winged Blackbird. I drove a Great Blue Heron before me most of my way back downstream. Each time I passed him, he flew off downstream a ways, and as soon as he perched, here I came in my boat to disturb him again…

I also saw a couple of muskrats. This guy seemed to be struggling against the current as well:

 

[RayseM]

Boats - they just keep on giving.

 

[Headwinds]

This morning I took the Green Heron out for the first time this season.

I love seeing your boating excursions. We aren't able to canoe like we used to, but your photos are great reminders of happy times.

The river was fairly high and fast, and I struggled to make any headway poling upstream. There were places over shoals and around obstructions where I almost didn’t make it.

I did a little poling years ago in our canoe, and your experience sounds very familiar. I think that was when I realized that the knees were
probably going to be the first things to go. Main thing to remember is always go upstream first.

 

[Just Tom.]

I love seeing your boating excursions. We aren't able to canoe like we used to, but your photos are great reminders of happy times.

I did a little poling years ago in our canoe, and your experience sounds very familiar. I think that was when I realized that the knees were
probably going to be the first things to go. Main thing to remember is always go upstream first.

I don’t get out much either, really, but yes, happy times indeed! When I was a child and teenager I spent a ton of time in our family’s canoes - a Browning aluminum canoe and one my dad made himself out of strips of wood ripped from 1x lumber, overlaid with fiberglass. I used to know the river between Brunswick and Swain’s like the back of my hand. By the time I was in high school, my dad trusted me to go on overnight canoe-camping trips with a friend, with no adult supervision.

We also made a boat similar to mine, which was great when the river was low, because you could drag it across the rocks without worrying about damage. It would get damaged, you just wouldn’t worry about it…

At some point an oak tree fell in my parent’s back yard and crushed the canoes, otherwise I would still have them.

 

[Just Tom.]

I know it’s a bit hackneyed, but this may be an appropriate time to quote The Wind in the Willows:

"Nice? It's the only thing," said the Water Rat solemnly as he leant forward for his stroke. "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolute nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing," he went on dreamily: "messing—about—in—boats; messing—"

"Look ahead, Rat!" cried the Mole suddenly.

It was too late. The boat struck the bank full tilt. The dreamer, the joyous oarsman, lay on his back at the bottom of the boat, his heels in the air.

"—about in boats—or with boats," the Rat went on composedly, picking himself up with a pleasant laugh. "In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not. Look here! If you've really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river together, and have a long day of it?"

 

[Headwinds]

I know it’s a bit hackneyed, but this may be an appropriate time to quote The Wind in the Willows:

"Nice? It's the only thing," said the Water Rat solemnly as he leant forward for his stroke. "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolute nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing," he went on dreamily: "messing—about—in—boats; messing—"

"Look ahead, Rat!" cried the Mole suddenly.

It was too late. The boat struck the bank full tilt. The dreamer, the joyous oarsman, lay on his back at the bottom of the boat, his heels in the air.

"—about in boats—or with boats," the Rat went on composedly, picking himself up with a pleasant laugh. "In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not. Look here! If you've really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river together, and have a long day of it?"

Exactly! Probably my favorite passage in literature. When we were canoeing a lot I used to follow a canoeing & kayaking internet forum. There were frequent discussions about speed- which hull design/material is fastest, etc. After one such discussion turned into several claims of: “I managed to go X miles in only Y minutes in my Z canoe”, one member ended the discussion with “I always thought the last one off the water won.”

 

[CelloDan]

Beautiful knife and breathtaking mountains !
What material is the knife handle ?

Yorkshire, “God’s Own” as they say.

Beautiful Yorkshire sunset !

Awesome photos.
Thank you for sharing your trip photos

De nada mi amigo and thank you for the kind words.

Man oh Man, Brother Dan, I would love to share another water trip with you. I’m thinking on a way ... Not to mess up your Solos or SWEETHEART trips - just to give you another excuse to get out on the water.

Here are a few walk abouts ~

This is at Cape Cod. For the past 60+ years my friends report, that from this same vantage point - a porch on a dune shack - (20+ seasons that I have witnessed myself) we could not see the water for the sand dunes. Last summer for the first time, there was a blue line along the horizon just above the dunes.

This summer Shifting sands of time - you might say...

View attachment 2579770

Closer to home - I saw this guy on the trail ~

View attachment 2579771

And this tree drama ~
View attachment 2579776

And a LORIEN Albatross knife on a “ DINNER ROLL” (starter polypore)

View attachment 2579780

Gracias Ray, we had a great trip trip indeed, even the copious rain, wind and cold at the end could not stop us from reaching our destination

Crazy about the sand dunes !!!. What could have caused such great changes lately ?

The porcupine looked quite quite content, just chilling up there, the tree drama a bit too dramatic and the dinner roll made me hungry lol.

This morning I took the Green Heron out for the first time this season. I’m sure I already posted pictures of this launch-point before, but here it is again:

Headed out into the Potomac:

I’m keeping good company, too:

The river was fairly high and fast, and I struggled to make any headway poling upstream. There were places over shoals and around obstructions where I almost didn’t make it.

This is far as I got, in over an hour of heavy exertion, just a little over a mile upstream:

Here is the same stretch of river last August, for comparison:

I saw a Bald Eagle, what I think was a juvenile Bald Eagle, and a Red-winged Blackbird. I drove a Great Blue Heron before me most of my way back downstream. Each time I passed him, he flew off downstream a ways, and as soon as he perched, here I came in my boat to disturb him again…

I also saw a couple of muskrats. This guy seemed to be struggling against the current as well:

Great to see the first trip of the season Tom !
You encountered a variety of wildlife and got your cardio workout as well
The water on the Saint Lawrence and Rideau also change quite significantly as the season progresses.

At some point an oak tree fell in my parent’s back yard and crushed the canoes, otherwise I would still have them.

Sad to hear about the canoes Tom. My "Esperanza" narrowly escaped a similar fate last year when part of a neighbour's tree came down over the fence onto our backyard in an ice storm.

I know it’s a bit hackneyed, but this may be an appropriate time to quote The Wind in the Willows:

"Nice? It's the only thing," said the Water Rat solemnly as he leant forward for his stroke. "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolute nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing," he went on dreamily: "messing—about—in—boats; messing—"

"Look ahead, Rat!" cried the Mole suddenly.

It was too late. The boat struck the bank full tilt. The dreamer, the joyous oarsman, lay on his back at the bottom of the boat, his heels in the air.

"—about in boats—or with boats," the Rat went on composedly, picking himself up with a pleasant laugh. "In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not. Look here! If you've really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river together, and have a long day of it?"

That quote gets to the essence of why I love my little trips out on "Serena" and "Esperanza" so much.
I have my share of anxieties in my day to day life for a multitude of reasons.
They all just seem to dissipate when "messing about in boats" out in nature.
I feel what can be described as a sense of purpose and calm fulfillment as I steer my little sailboat from here to there and just generally 'mess about" all day
.

“I always thought the last one off the water won.”

Very true

My first solo boating trip 3 years ago aboard Esperanza that started it all
I remember I was quite nervous and hesitant about it as I had never done something like it before.
I am so glad I went for it

 

[gentleman_edc]

I had a great 6 mile hike this morning, with about 1600 vertical ft. It was amazingly crowded, a lot of people were out for memorial day.

It was humbling to get passed by a guy running full speed uphill. And we were already 2.5 miles in.

No pics until I get my image posting figured out.

 

[Horsewright]

Beautiful knife and breathtaking mountains !
What material is the knife handle ?


Beautiful Yorkshire sunset !


De nada mi amigo and thank you for the kind words.


Gracias Ray, we had a great trip trip indeed, even the copious rain, wind and cold at the end could not stop us from reaching our destination

Crazy about the sand dunes !!!. What could have caused such great changes lately ?

The porcupine looked quite quite content, just chilling up there, the tree drama a bit too dramatic and the dinner roll made me hungry lol.



Great to see the first trip of the season Tom !
You encountered a variety of wildlife and got your cardio workout as well
The water on the Saint Lawrence and Rideau also change quite significantly as the season progresses.


Sad to hear about the canoes Tom. My "Esperanza" narrowly escaped a similar fate last year when part of a neighbour's tree came down over the fence onto our backyard in an ice storm.

That quote gets to the essence of why I love my little trips out on "Serena" and "Esperanza" so much.
I have my share of anxieties in my day to day life for a multitude of reasons.
They all just seem to dissipate when "messing about in boats" out in nature.
I feel what can be described as a sense of purpose and calm fulfillment as I steer my little sailboat from here to there and just generally 'mess about" all day
.

Very true

My first solo boating trip 3 years ago aboard Esperanza that started it all
I remember I was quite nervous and hesitant about it as I had never done something like it before.
I am so glad I went for it

Thank you sir! Stabilized and dyed box elder on that Mestano.

 

[Pt-Luso]

 

[Just Tom.]

Just a short walk today, maybe 4 miles or so, but about a third of it through areas with either no trails, or deer trails only.

At one point I crossed Rock Creek and popped out onto the paved trail that runs along it. I saw what looked like a married couple that had been out jogging together. The guy was on his back at the edge of the trail, furiously doing those abdominal exercises where you touch your right elbow to your left knee and vise-versa. I said “Look at the poor guy - he’s struggling. Aren’t you going to roll him back over onto his feet?” She sort of guffawed and said “haha, nice one”. I didn’t get a laugh out of her husband at all…

 

[SlipjointPolitiburo]

Today’s beach combing harvest

 

[CelloDan]

“Serena” ️ in the storm

Verijero and a Laguiole I obtained from a very generous trade by Crazy Canuck
close by for support

After the storm a crazy looking bird came to feast on Tobby’s soggy food that was left outside

After the storm

 

[CelloDan]

Ferocious creatures lurk in the woods