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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

#25 - Honey, I Want a Boat!

On a large lake near our property, we go kayaking, and we paddle deep into the spooky, scary parts. My kayak is kind of dinky. It has a dent in the center of it from being stored on the utility trailer in the garage; the part of the kayak that was leaning on the metal began to warp with the heat. So, I have a little dent that lets water flood into my kayak. Fun.

I love going to our property because the huge recreational lake is nearby. We love being on the water. Our home in the Greater Houston area is also close to Galveston and the beach, so once we move to our property in the country, I'm sure we'll be out on the lake very often.

I'm not sure what kind of birds these were, but they let me get very close by kayak before they took flight.

My husband has his ocean kayak loaded down with conveniences for some good fishing. It all works well on the lake as well.

I found his bucket with the "House Beautiful" marking to be funny. But, his system works. On this day we had delicious catfish for dinner.

I am getting so close to the bank and the stumps of trees that my kayak is being bumped and scraped and hung up on debris below me. It's time to start paddling in reverse so I can back out of here.

My husband has the camera and that's me paddling around. It's pretty hot, so we're heading back to shore.

See the dent in my kayak? It actually comes in handy...when I am getting over-heated, I slightly rock side to side and the kayak is flooded with cool water and the drain hole at the bottom of the kayak lets it slowly escape.

My kayak isn't as long and sleek as my husband's much nicer kayak, but that's because we didn't want to spend the extra money on mine since I am not as motivated to go kayaking as my husband is. However, this little kayak of mine and its low budget price tag results in my kayak sometimes appearing to waddle. The tip of the kayak in rough water will swing from side to side as I paddle, but my husband's kayak cuts through the water like a warm knife cutting through butter. I waddle, he slices.

And we have fun. And we get to see incredible things, up close. Very up close.

In the backwood swampy area, unseen by most people, unless you are boating far back into the little channels and braving possible alligator appearances, we discover more LIFE than can be imagined.

I love little treasures like this.

Maybe once we move to our acreage in the country we'll be able to buy a little boat. We've never owned a boat because we'd have to pay for storage. Our house in the city has restrictions, so we can't have any recreational vehicles on our property or we are sent a hefty fine along with a nasty letter.

On our land, we'd have plenty of room to store a little boat, without storage charges! I'd be glad to head out beneath a beautiful Texas sunrise with my hubby so we can enjoy the scenery and catch our dinner. Once we get home with that ice-chest full of catfish, we can dig up some potatoes from our garden for home-made french-fries along with some harvested zucchini to put on the grill and our dinner is fresh and first-class. Better yet, we can sit on the front porch while enjoying the country breeze as we chow down - we might even eat off of our china. What could be better than this kind of life?

Once we move to the country full-time, I think we'll be enjoying a lot of catfish dinners. But, we better start planning to buy that boat.

Again, I can't wait!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are going to need another notebook...because the one you are using MUST be getting full of all these things you MUST have. :)

I thought about the anniversary thingy....if you have friends that play music have them all bring their instruments along and have a jam session for music.

I thought of something else but right now can't remember what it was....I guess I need a notepad too. :)

Maybe this was it....are there any flowers you could plant now from seed that would be blooming in October?
Oh, another thing was making a heart out of stones from the creek or pinecones(you mentioned you had a lot of them)
And can you open burn there? A bonfire would be nice.
And if you are looking for specactularness...you mentioned watching a sunset the other evening there....if you could have your 'vows' with the guests facing the sunset , wouldn't that be spectacular? Or fireworks? B.

Lana from Farm Life Lessons said...

I think we first MUST have a tractor! haha The land is very powerful and we're kind of puny with our inadequate tools, but we don't have room to store everything yet. Everything has a time and place.

You are VERY creative and have such awesome ideas. I actually looked for the vinyl tableclothes to use instead of old sheets, etc. and I found some AWESOME red checkered vinyl tablecloths at Academy for $2.99 each. I am going to start buying them. Also, your idea to have bales of hay for extra seating is another good idea because I can use those later for the chicken coop. I believe we will be having a bonfire, as long as there isn't a fireburn, but your idea of having fireworks is awesome!!!! And I would LOVE for home-grown musicians to break out their instruments for an on-the-spot jam session. My brother had been trying to play the Banjo, but I think he got bored. I play classical piano, but that won't help us. I've been wanting to get a guitar, but I don't think people will want to hear me sing. You have really got a heart like mine - I sure do wish I had more of what I grew up with, plenty of people who can play the harmonica, the banjo, the guitar and even spoons. Boy, I sure do miss those days. I love your ideas...

LindaG said...

What a great catfish! :)
There is NO WAY I would go in a leaky boat. I don't swim because I'm afraid of water, yet I take showers and will go on a fishing boat - say 16 ft or more. ;-)
And you have plenty of property now you could probably safely keep a boat, but might be best to wait, yes.

I think the black birds are cormorants. You could try looking here: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478
I love it when I'm trying to identify a bird or sound. :)

Lana from Farm Life Lessons said...

Hey Linda - we do get to catch awesome catfish, and they taste delicious! My leaky boat is only acceptable if I am rather close to shore, I'm a strong swimmer and always have my life-jacket on and I can STILL get nervous, so I don't think I'd get in that kayak unless I felt ready to accept tumping over...I'd probably still have a moment of panic about an alligator being nearby. Linda, you sound like you are knowledgeable about birds, my husband and I are doing our best to learn. We are fascinated by all the birds on our land. Well, WHEREVER we are, we are drawn to watch birds. Such delicate, amazing creatures - owning the sky must be a great life.