Herons hate me …

sunrise_paddle.jpg

Originally uploaded by Suffering the Benz

Anyone who knows me knows my interests become obsessions pretty quickly. Enter my latest obsession: paddling.
I’ve been going out in the canoe one or two mornings a week, slipping out of the cove before sunrise and exploring the Tennessee River as day breaks. This morning I saw my first truly transcendental sunrise after a series of cloudy, brooding paddles. This photo barely does it justice. I had to stop and drift for a while just to drink it in.
As I paddle, I leave a trail of croaking, pissed off herons in my wake. Often they’re dead asleep on a dock or a rock as I approach and I get incredibly close before they awaken and take indignant flight. Other times the warily watch my approach and move on only when it’s clear there is no alternative.
This morning I cut immediately over to the south shore at Parks Bend after exiting Duck Cove and paddled downstream about 2.5 miles to Sequoyah Heights. There’s a red buoy there that I set as my goal, and when hit it, I crossed to the north shore and passed the osprey nest on Coulter Shoal daymark as I headed back upstream. An osprey chick and one of the adults were in the nest, taking off and flying around for a bit while I passed.
I’m going to start uploading my paddling pictures to a Flickr photoset called, appropriately enough, Paddling Pics.