Floating Breakfast

Saturday morning, we got up early to meet friends Lynn and Mark for a morning paddle on Nequasset Lake. Lynn suggested earlier we pack a breakfast, and I immediately agreed recalling fondly my floating lunch days as a counselor at Camp Pondicherry Girl Scout camp.

It was cool and overcast, but beautiful. The mist was just lifting when we put in at about 7:30, and the lake was glassy calm. We paddled about halfway up the lake and found some ledge to stop at for our picnic breakfast.

I'd had a technical challenge that morning, so my blackberry-ginger scones became blackberry muffins (scuffins?) as we were out of butter (out of butter? how can that be?!) -- not terrible, but not scones, either. Adequate, sort of -- not an accolade I like to apply in association with my cooking.

Fortunately, the cheddar-broccoli quiche made from our own broccoli and eggs was yummy, and Mark brought a batch of fabulous blueberry muffins, and the view from our rock was gorgeous. With hot coffee from the thermos, breakfast bordered on divine.

As we ate and chatted, the mist began to clear. In frot of me, the dew on a spider web became more visible against the backdrop of the lake. Preparing to leave, we noticed some hens and chicks growing on the ledge, escaped from someone's garden, no doubt.

As we paddled the rest of the way around the lake, the cloud cover lifted and the sun came out, and by the time we returned to the boat landing, it was warming up nicely. Which turned out to be a good thing, because as I disembarked from my kayak, things went awry, and in the blink of an eye, I was swimming --oops! Some additional practicing on the getting in and out of the kayaks is called for, I'd say. The kayak, however, stayed upright, and our gear remained dry. Phew!

Soaked to the skin, wearing cotton, I quickly got cold. I know cotton and canoeing/kayaking is a bad mix, but haven't had a chance to upgrade my wardrobe to include kayaking friendly synthetics. Still, once I shed my soaked t-shirt and donned my dry fleece jacket, things improved. We loaded the kayaks and headed home for lunch.

At lunch, sitting on the deck in the sun, we got the laptop to check the weather. The forecast called for cold, overcast and showers likely for Sunday. Not good kayaking weather, especially sans synthetics. In a wink, Dan and I were loading the boats again, and we headed back to the lake to explore the other boat launch. Jam and pesto could wait.

At the lake inlet, we paddled upstream a bit until a large snag blocked the way, then we turned around. The water was calm and glassy, but as we got closer to the lake, the wind picked up. I'd hoped to practice my entrances and exits, but it wasn't the day for that, so we paddled a bit to get accustomed to the way the boats handled in the wind and waves. In all, we spent a glorious 5 1/2 hours on the water yesterday. I hope we have a long, warm fall; it would be great to spend the next 6-7 Saturdays the same way.