Sunday, June 27, 2010

Sights of the Charles: Feeding swans, sunning turtles & joyriding bugs

OK, so "joyriding" is a tiny bit of a stretch since, technically, the bug wasn't rowing my boat, simply going for a ride atop it, but doesn't joyriding sound better? I'm pretty sure the bug had joy in his tiny soul. Pretty sure.

But yes, all that I viewed on my row yesterday. I was feeling fairly beat from the week, so no coached session/race pieces for me, just some paddling upstream, flat water, ahhhhhhhhhhh.

The feeding swan really freaked me at first. Rowing along, glancing behind me, I saw a bundle of floating white that I thought was maybe a discarded pillow (it was a fleeting thought!), then figured it was a white plastic trash bag. As I got closer, I realized it was a swan's body, but to my horror, only its body. I stopped rowing, beginning to freak about someone strangling or beheading a swan (although there was no gore or mangling), then was just sad about a dead swan's floating body. Then it raised it head from somewhere deep below the water and looked at me. Waves of relief. So that's how they hunt/feed.

The sunning turtle, cute little guy on a rock, right before the ... um ... brain still waking up ... Arsenal! The Arsenal bridge.

Willa sends y'all a meow. Sucio would but ... it's Scary.

The bug, I noticed atop Pepper maybe 3/4 of the way to my turnaround point, not sure if he was there from the launching. And he was there at least a lot of the way back. Forgot to look for him back at the dock.

Speaking of dock. There was an 8 launching when I got back, and I walked alongside it to get to my boat bay, and I marveled at how long it was ... these are big boats! Nine people sitting with room for stretched-out legs. Funny how unaccustomed I'm getting to big boats. Do miss them. Just not a big boat time in my life, I guess.

Anyway, other wildlife, there were also flocks? herds? somethings of floating ducks. Didn't see the cool ... crane? heron? OK, I am NOT a wildlife exert, but he's a cool blue-grey bird with long legs. Didn't see him.

Love that river.

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