Paddling at the Reservoir

Today was a awesome day. I woke up this morning, saw what a great day it was going to be and decided to head out to the reservoir, taking my son, the canoe and paddles to have a good time for a couple of hours. It has been so hot here this week we really wanted to be on or in the water, however swimming was out as although the air temps have been in the upper 80's to low 90's this week the water has not warmed up to swimming temp yet.

Bubba mostly wound up sitting in the canoe with his paddle cross ways in front of him, resting on the spray cover in the front of the canoe. I wish he liked it more, but he was for the most part afraid that the boat would tip over and he would wind up in the drink! He still doesn't have a good sense of balance but I am hoping that will improve as he becomes more comfortable being on the water.

The water was very choppy today as we had a decent wind blowing, it kicked up some rather rough waves, and there were others out testing their boats and equipment, so occasionally we had to watch out for the wake of passing motor boats as well.

This is what our inflatable canoe looks like out of the box

It is a great little inflatable canoe/kayak that I purchased online a couple of years ago, we have had out several times a summer with no damage or needed repairs. I like the convience of being able to carry it in a tote almost everywhere. It inflates in a couple of minutes with a battery operated air pump and deflates in seconds. A regular canoe would be much to heavy for me to handle and I wound not be able to enjoy the convience of keeping it and all the accessories (life preservers, paddles, air pump, etc..) in the truck and ready to go all the time.

We spent about 2 hours on the water and I enjoyed every minute of it, including believe it or not, listening to Bubb complain, He was being a good sport about it even when I told him I was going to paddle him out to the middle of the lake and dump him in! Hahaha..  at least I was in a pretty spot and having a good time paddling, which has the side benefit of being good exercise. (Boy are my arms and shoulders going to be sore in the morning) and he just enjoyed being at the reservoir, he even managed to get in a lil swimming at the boat launch as I got things ready and as I was packing them back up!

I hope to spend many more hours in the coming months, either on the water at the nearby reservoir, or making our way, in segments, down the east fork of the White River.

I have always wanted to paddle down the river from Muncie, IN where it becomes navigable, to the end where it joins the Wabash before merging with the Ohio. I even have a guidebook that shows the recommended segments along with all the information we need to complete the journey, (Dam’s, bridges, unadvisable spots, and the like)

I am hoping that my son will come around and enjoy himself more, he does like being outdoors enough to be willing to be my prisoner in the boat for a little while…. J

I am hoping that as his paddling skill increases, so will his enjoyment.

In other news, the garden is progressing well, almost everything has sprouted except my corn. I am quite disappointed about that but, if there is nothing poking through the soil after a few more days I am going to hoe those 3 rows and replant more corn, hoping that the problem is with the seeds…

And finally, I know I haven't been posting as regular as I would like to, there is a reason and all will be explained in a future post, suffice to say I am not as healthy as I would like to be and it is going to take more that just a little exercise to feel better.

I hope all of you who read my blog regularly, and you stalkers too, will stay tuned and keep on reading, it WILL get better, and more regular as I am able, and I hope you will add your thoughts as well, as they help me make these pages better along with being encouraging for me!

What kinds of things do you do for fun and relaxation in your part of the world? Don't forget that along with becoming more self- sufficent we need to take care of the kid inside us all by having some fun!
Besides the fun we have in and on the water my son and I also like to have a good time with our friends. We are having our first "bonfire party" of the year in a couple of weeks and they are wonderful. A night spent outdoors with family and friends around a blazing fire with good food and good music we always have a good time and usually wind up sleeping in one of the tents we set up for those who do not wish to drive home late or come from out of town. I hope to post about that and have good pics to share when the time arrives.

Until next time
Deb~