Launch Kayaks! A Challenge; Canine Meditation; Lake Effect What? Science and Spirituality

Today we had what Suzanne calls “a mellow paddle”. This name comes from a phrase adopted from a hippie paddler we met back in Puget Sound when we lived in the Seattle area. It means a quiet, not too strenuous paddling experience on a secluded, quiet, not too hairy river or creek. In today’s paddle, we looked around at several likely locations. The first was at the mouth of Irondequoit Bay, where these modest hovels overlook a small arm of the bay near the entrance to Lake Ontario. Not a bad view, eh? 

We decided not to paddle there because (a) it was too close to civilization and a marina, (b) it would have been too short of a paddle without going out into the much larger bay, and (c) the Natural Resources squad shown here was out taking water/algae/fish samples, and four humans and an outboard would make more noise than we wanted to endure. We like our solitude on the water, and this area didn’t meet our criteria. 

We wound up going to the south end of the bay in a creek (well-named “Bay Creek”) that was home to lots of birds and a few large jumping fish. No, I was not fishing, but wished I had brought a hand grenade or some sticks of dynamite to get a few steelhead for dinner. My Lovely Bride made a somewhat sarcastic comment about me wanting quiet and solitude yet wishing I had a hand grenade for fishing. I don't find any conflict here; if you can't catch fish, then why not blow them up? A man has to eat!

Suzanne got this photo of a great blue heron, one of our favorite birds, and I got the second photo of another bird, my beautiful paddling partner. 

Wednesday was an easy day PT-wise, because I have been cutting back on running after an 11 miler Monday in preparation for a half marathon this coming Sunday. Chris Lavelle, the Messages of Hope filmmaker, coerced me into running this race. I say coerced because he “invited” me to run it, and as every guy knows, “invited” means “challenged.” I know that women will not understand this affliction that males of the species have, but the competitive urge does not abate after 64 years of experience. I have heard that this competitive urge in older men is inversely proportional to common sense, but I can neither confirm nor deny that statement. Just because Chris is only 29 or 30, I can’t give him any mercy. I will probably try to trip him up or step on his heels as the race begins...

As many of you are already aware, Rudy is a psychic wiener dog. Following his Dog-Mom's lead, he also meditates regularly. We caught him in this post-meditative pose earlier in the day.

As we were driving around Webster, we saw this device on the roadside. I was baffled as to what its purpose might be. My lovely bride laughed at me, implying something potentially negative about my Southern upbringing. She said that it was used to plow "lake effect" snow. What a ridiculous assertion on her part! It could not possibly snow that much anywhere but the North Pole, who ever heard of a lake snowing, who would live where it snowed that much, and what would you plant in plowed snow? Sometimes she truly befuddles me.  

Wednesday night saw us setting up at Christ Church Unity in Rochester for Suzanne to present her Science and Spirituality talk to 55 enthusiastic attendees. Many will also be attending the Messages of Hope documentary viewing at the Little Theater in Rochester Thursday night and her S.O.A.R! Workshop on Saturday, also at Christ Church Unity. Suzanne and I will also be attending Bob Vance's Philosophy Club meeting on Friday evening, where Suzanne will give her "Tapping into the Grid" presentation. It is a very busy week!