Mosaic Monday #20: Drowning Oreos

Fishing poles, the lines carrying droplets of water back to the source.  Dragonflies flexing their wings in sunbeams while tenderly perched on a lily pad.  Fingertips trailing in the silky coolness of the lake as it swishes past the prow of the kayak.  Swallows swooping over the mirror surface of the lake, momentarily reflected and then gone again, rising to the sky with insect prey pinched securely between upper and lower beak.

These are just a few of my memories of an August day on Monroe Lake - August 1, 2017, to be precise.

At that time, we were still living in the Whitefish townhouse and regularly traveling 1 hour each way to the home build site.  As Monroe Lake is less than 2 miles from the new house, it was an ideal candidate for kayaking, especially on a day when we would already be inspecting progress on the new home.

Therefore, we had planned several times to kayak here, and one thing after another came up.  The worst was July 30 - we sweat in the non-stop Montana sun while cleaning up the build site, and had even changed into our suits before we realized that Spousal Unit's fishing pole had remained behind in the garage at the townhouse.  Aaarrrggghhh.  I was SO ready for an afternoon on the water.

So, Take Two - the next day.  A sublime afternoon. To access Monroe Lake, you launch on Ashley Creek and make your way through what I termed the "delta", a maze of thick cat-tails.  I made one wrong paddle, and Man with Hat had to push me through the forest of reeds.

Once on the lake, we were greeted by a pair of loons and a young 'un.  The parents called mournfully to each other throughout our time on the water.

Man with Hat concentrated on fishing; he caught and released a dozen small perch.  An osprey circled periodically - I envisioned it was hoping for an easy handout ...

I paddled the circumference of the lake, taking in the lily pads and other aquatic plants.  The water was so clear I could see the stalks of the lily pads stretching to the muddy bottom.









Two deer approached the water's edge, but retreated into the woods when they saw me.  In hindsight, this spot was near the location of my video of deer crossing the frozen lake, 17 months later.  Just a coincidence?

Monroe empties into Ashley Creek straight ahead in this shot

My kayak is in roughly the same location where I saw the deer walk across the frozen lake in January 2019

A giant mound of a beaver lodge anchors one side of the delta, almost like a sentinel marking the way to the creek.  Another, smaller lodge is nearby, snuggled up against the shore.  In my wild imagination, I see the second generation of beavers setting up house in a "starter" lodge!





Five days later, kayaking was a family affair on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.  #1 Son served as steerman for our kayak, and Man with Hat led from the back with #1 Son's rookie girlfriend in the second inflatable - yes, her first time ever in a kayak!

Man with Hat fishing the Flathead River

The Flathead delivered for her - an eagle and an osprey, wildflowers, and fish.














Paddling the 11 miles from Paola Creek to Cascadilla Creek was technical - low water levels meant protruding rocks a-plenty!  Inflatable kayaks deliver many advantages, but nimble steering is not one of them.

Lower right: Western White Butterfly on Canada Goldenrod

So it was that #1 Son and I found ourselves wrapped around a small mountain (ok, it was a rock), and that rock partnered with the flowing water to tip us into the brink.  Fortunately, we escaped with nothing more serious that a scrape on his arm.

Oh, and we drowned the Oreos.

Mosaic Monday

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My Hiking Journal: Entries 12 and 13

Yesterday, I was watering my neighbor's garden, and the tree swallows were dive-bombing me in an attempt to protect the youngsters in the nesting boxes nearby.  It brought to mind our kayaking trip last July, when we floated past a large cliff wall riddled with holes made by bank swallows.

Friday, July 7, 2017 - Whitefish River - 8 miles

(Internet)

Our son shuttled us with a put-in at Kay Beller Park and a take-out at the Highway 40 bridge.  During the 3-hour paddle, herons would lift slowly and silently from a marshy inlet to find a spot without people.  Numerous painted turtles lined up nose to tail on every available log, and were ambivalent to the yellow creature drifting past.  Only the yellow iris tucked among the still-short bulrushes, and the occasional goldfinch, could compete with the brightness of our inflatable kayak.

Mid-way through our journey, we approached a curve and immediately noticed a dramatic increase in bird traffic.  And then we saw the cliff wall and the birds flying to and from it.  As I learned later, the Bank Swallow is usually seen in flocks, flying low over ponds and rivers with quick, fluttery wingbeats.  It nests in dense colonies, in hole in dirt or sand banks.  Some of these colonies are quite large, and a tall cut bank may be pockmarked with several hundred holes.  Despite their small size, tiny bills and small feet, these swallows generally dig their own nesting burrows, sometimes up to five feet long.

(Internet)

I took this video of the bank swallows on Whitefish River, and got a pleasant bonus at the end.

While Man with Hat didn't hook any fish that day, we watched birds on the wing snagging dragonflies and other winged insects that flitted about the river's surface.  At one point, a bald eagle flapped serenely over the river, and unseen hawks called to each other from the thick stands of trees.  A deer near the river's edge lifted a dripping, shiny nose to assess our threat, and then slowly retreated to the woods.

Two pairs of kayakers each shared the waterway that day, exchanging only a nod in our direction as they glided downriver.  It seemed no one wanted to break the peace of the summer day, punctuated by nothing louder than the buzz of insect wings and the twitter of the birds.

Saturday, July 8, 2017 - Middle Fork, Flathead River - 8 miles

Yes, we went kayaking two days in a row.  You might as well, when you have all your gear together, but it probably had more to do with our son's work schedule accommodating another shuttle!

We put in around 11 am at Cascadilla Creek, an apparently good time for entry given that we saw very little traffic ahead of us throughout the 4-hour journey (we stopped three times for Man with Hat to fish). The take-out at Moccasin Creek at 3 pm was a different story - clearly it was a key launching time for the rafting companies - at least a dozen craft hovered creekside while loading up tourists lathered in sun cream and bug repellent!

(Internet)

But I have skipped 4 hours of beauty, so let me re-wind!

A picturesque wilderness whitewater river offers many opportunities to the boater.  Splendid views.

Fishing.

This Pike Minnow was a feisty fellow

Flowers.

Upper Middle: Oxeye Daisy; Lower Middle: Harebell; Lower Right: Pearly Everlasting

Upper Right: Nodding Onion; Lower Right: St. Johnswort

Peace.

Linking to

All Seasons


Mosaic Monday


Nature Notes

Saturday's Critters

Skywatch Friday

Wandering Camera