The Herons of Lady Bird Lake

I often talk about seeing different birds while I paddle.  I am a huge fan of the herons.  I have noticed that different species are seen on the lake during different seasons.

Over the winter the one I saw the most is the Snowy Egret.

I still see them in the summer and not as often.

Year round a fairly common site and my personal favorite are the Great Blue Herons

They are on the shoreline looking for small fish, crayfish and insects.  The other day I got within three feet of one.  It front feathers were blowing in the wind like the heron pictured above.

I love to see them flying.  Their wing span is over 5 feet and they are graceful fliers.  It is awesome to watch them land in the trees.

The greened back heron leaves the lake in the winter and is a sign of spring when they return.  They are the smallest of the herons that I see.  You often don't notice they have have long necks until you see them stretch when grabbing their breakfast out of the water.

The last of the spring and summer herons are the night herons.  They have black and white masks and are mid-sized.

All of them have a distinctive call.  When I hear it, I turn to look at the shore and see if I can find them.

This time of year I often see each type as I make my morning trip for the dock to Redbud Isle and back.

Wind

Wind and paddling seems to be a theme in my Facebook paddling reports.  So I wanted to take some time to write about it in greater detail!!!

It is both friend and foe!

Foe --
When the wind is coming at me it causes resistance.  I have to paddle harder and you go slower.  The harder the wind -- the more work.  The cool thing is that I can often see the wind on the water and I know what to look for.  When is blowing hard, there are more waves (the water can get really choppy).  If there is a gust coming my way I can see the pattern on the water.

At first I was afraid of a lot of wind.  Now if I'm out and the wind is strong, I see it as a challenge.  I have been paddling and felt like I couldn't get any momentum.  I have just stood on my board and laughed out loud into the wind.  I often then find an "extra gear" and get my rhythm and I myself moving forward again.

Friend --
When the wind is at my back, I can just take my paddle out of the water and be pushed forward.  It feels like a reward for the hard work I put in for pushing into it.  The trick is that you can't see the gusts coming - so I have to have "soft knees" so if an unexpected gust comes, I can keep my balance.

Then there is wind coming for the side.  This is my least favorite.  It takes a different kind of balance.  I have to be able to read it and shift my weight from side-to-side so I don't go over.  It takes concentration.  I am grateful when I can get the board back to the place where the wind is either in front or behind me.

The wind is now really my friend at all times.  Whether it is challenging my strength, my balance or I'm gliding on the water with its assistance.

SUP Storm

Since I was off the water all last week, I wanted to get as much time on the water this weekend as I could.  I've been tracking the weather for today to hope that I could find a window of decent weather.  Before I went to bed it looked like if I got on the water at 6:30 am that I could spend several hours.  When my my alarm went off at 5:30 am -- it was raining, so I went back to sleep.

I woke up at 8 am and made breakfast and started checking the weather again.  It looked like it might rain about 11:30 am and it wouldn't be "bad."  The Austin weather person did say that you shouldn't go on the water (or you should get off the water) when you hear thunder -- not wait for the lighting.

It always takes me longer to get out of my house than I want it to.  I was at the dock and on the water at 10:30 am.  Right as I put my board in the water, I heard thunder.  It didn't look too bad and my hope was that the storm would go by us.

So I headed out to Redbud Isle (usually a 30 minute paddle).  The wind was calm and the water was flat and lovely.  It was a little dark, which was nice.  There were a fair number of people on the water.  A woman in a kayak said that she hoped the storms would miss us as she paddled by.

As I got closer to Redbud Isle, a few drops of rain started to fall and then the wind started to pick up.  And then the wind started to BLOW and the lightening and thunder started.  I got on my knees and paddled to the isle, got under a tree and held onto the tree roots so I didn't drift.

The first 15 minutes were kind of fun.  The rain was gentle under the tree and it seemed like an adventure that would hopefully end soon. It was amazing to watch the sheets of rain go across the water.  At 45 minutes I was starting to get really cold.  I was over it and the lightening was still happening pretty often.  It didn't feel like I had a lot of options to get to a dry place.

About 10 minutes later the lightening was slowing down.  I realized that I cold and that my hands were numb.  The wind was strong and I realized that it would be at my back.  I decided to risk it and get back to the dock.  So I paddled as hard as I could and got back to the dock in about 20 minutes.

The amazing sight on the way back to the dock were the Great Blue Herons that were flying and playing in the wind.

I was grateful to have a towel and a dry shirt in my car.  I got home and had soup and tea.

Calculated Challenges...

My hope is on a weekday is to get on the water at 7am.  I haven't been able to get out of the house on time yet.  Today I did make it on the water by 7:30am.

You may be asking yourself -- Shane, why so early.  There are several reasons:

• To give myself the most time on the water
• To watch the sun come up over the lake
• To paddle when it is cooler
• To paddle before the wind picks up

 Conventional wisdom says that you start by paddling into the wind and then you can paddle with the wind at your back when you are feeling more tired.  A lot of the time this is what I do.  This morning it was more important to me to go toward Red Bud Island and see more of nature.  I knew that the it was going to get WINDY, and be against me by the time I headed back.  And I didn't care.  So the trip to the island was beautiful.  The sun was coming up, the wood ducks were out, I saw a couple of water snakes and there were very few people on the water.

When I back out on the lake from going around the island, the wind had picked-up.  And it didn't matter - it was too lovely.  It was a calculated challenge and I was up for it.  Plus I had the added challenge of paddling with this big piece of wood on my board.  It changed the balance, the weight and the way I could paddle.

Can't wait to see what the next challenge is going to be -- calculated or unexpected...

Drones and cops

This morning I got out on the lake at about 7:45am.  My plan was to do a short paddle around Redbud Island because I thought it was going to be windy.  Well -- there was a swimming race from Redbud Island to my dock so I couldn't go that way and it wasn't windy -- so I headed toward the Lamar bridge.  I wasn't sure how far I would go.

When I was close to where Barton Springs comes into Lady Bird Lake I noticed something in the sky and it caught my attention.  There are very few birds who can fly and stay in one place:  hummingbirds and osprey are the only two I know of.

So something was hovering in the sky over the middle of the lake -- a small, five-armed, personal drone.  This was my thought process:
 -- I want to take it down!
 -- Who is controlling it?
 -- What are they watching or looking for?
 --  Oh, that is really cool!!
 -- I want to take it down - it creeps me out!

I watched it for a while.  On the underside of each are were red or green lights.  It made a cool "whirring" sound.  Then I got bored and paddled on.

Because the weather was nice I kept going: under the Lamar bridge, under the 1st bridge, under the Congress Bridge and 1/2 way to the IH-35 bridge I saw two of the fanciest jet skis I have seen.  The jet skis were being ridden by APD officers!!!   Then I paddled a little farther and there were two power boats that were from APD.  WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE LAKE TODAY!!

I later realized that the cops were there to protect the swimmers during the race -- boat escort.  That made me feel better.  At first I thought was had entered one of the dystopian adolescent novels that I read all the time!!!

I made it down to the Longhorn Dam and around the basin by it.  I paddled over 8 miles in a little over 3 hours.  It was beautiful.  During some portions I went slowly and enjoyed the nature around me -- at other times I pushed myself for speed and endurance!

Balance in All Things

When I first started paddling the balance was about me, the board and not falling in.  I was like a baby deer on new legs.  My legs would shake, the board would feel unsteady and I was sure that I would fall in at any moment.  I didn't want to paddle in the wind or waves because that felt worse -- scary.

Over time, balance has become about something else.  My legs no longer shake.  I'm not afraid of wind or waves.  Some days I welcome them because now they are a challenge and I usually WIN!

Now balance is about what paddling brings to my life.  So if I have a bad day, or I have something on my mind that I can't work out -- I get out on the water.  I am steady on the board, surrounded by creatures that I love, some that have meaning to me.

I find that my mind clears, that better thought patterns emerge.  I write things in my head while I paddle.  I come up with new ideas for workshops, for life, for my future.  I work to focus on what I want.

I breathe in deeply and then I breathe out deeply.  I look for the hidden things on the water.  Sometimes that is wildlife.  Sometime I look for things that are  hidden in the water that might throw me off balance.  I have learned to be able to quickly avoid the snags.

This morning was one of those days that I was on the water looking for, striving for balance.  I was also looking for snakes.  For me they stand for transformation.  They are also so graceful in the water.  I went two hours without seeing one.  I was almost to the dock and disappointed.

AND THEN... just in front of me was a snake swimming across the lake.  I stopped paddling and stood on the board, balanced, and breathed in the grace of the snake.  Hoping that it was heading to a destination it was looking for.

I felt blessed to bear witness to its journey.  I left the water refreshed, balanced and ready for the day ahead.

Swans and Swallows

On Lady Bird Lake on the south side of the Mopac bridge I get to watch the activities of swans and swallows taking care of their families.

I'll talk about the swallows first.  There are a lot of swallow nests built on the bridge.  Swallows make their next out of mud.

You will find a picture of the nests at the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cliff_Swallow-27527-2.jpg

Swallows are insect eaters.  So in the morning they are flying in what look like clouds catching breakfast.  When their young are born -- they will take breakfast back to the babies.  They are fast and agile in the air.  I love to watch them swarm above me.

Now for the swans!  Swans mate for life.  The couples are very loving.  They will often hook their necks when they swim together.  I have seen them "mate" and that does not look as loving...

Now there is a mother sitting on her eggs and a male swan being very protective.  I have had him swim at full speed at me.  I paddled away as fast as I could yelling, "I'm not going to hurt your babies, I'm not going to hurt your babies."  I was able to out pace him and it was a little scary.  And then two days ago he flew at me.    I thought he was going to hit me and at then he flew about three feet to my left.  Swans are big birds and he could do some damage if he wanted to.  I'm very glad that he is so protective and I hope he is learning that I would never hurt his young ones.

I so enjoy watching the cycle of life on the lake.