Messing around with boats

Took the kayaks out last Sunday to our usual place--"the flats". This is an area on Lake Talquin which is too overgrown to let many power boats through, so we regard it as ours. It's where we almost always go kayaking. Some might say we're in a rut and should explore elsewhere. But this place is less than a 10-minute drive away, and being familiar with it lets us observe all of the changes. We know where the bird nests are, and where to find the biggest alligator (carefully)

It's odd and wonderful that we can leave civilization and with a few minutes paddling find ourselves in Middle Earth--or maybe Jurassic Park.

Spring has sprung, and the birds are nesting. This is a little fuzzy, but if you look at the left of the nest you can make out a couple of tiny fuzzy and very noisy babies.

Another pair of trees is very popular--there are two great blue heron nests and four anghinga nests in these.

There are at least a dozen osprey nests occupied. The birds are brooding but we haven't spotted any babies yet.

Of course, no trip is complete without an alligator. It was late afternoon and warm so we didn't catch any up on the banks sunning, but we at least found this one.

Even if we go out for only a couple of hours, it feels like a vacation. We're so lucky to live here.