Doggy Paddling around Munyon Island

I took my dog out for a morning on the Intracoastal Waterway today. The weather was perfect; warm and breezy. Duchess and I both had a blast.

We started out in a sheltered lagoon area near John D. MacArthur State Park shortly after the park opened at 8 AM. The tide was high, and fish were continually launching themselves up out of the water; some of them sustained impressive air time. It was really encouraging to observe a thriving fish population in an era of over-harvesting. 

I passed under a bridge and out into the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway and started checking out the area's birds. I spotted several flocks of Brown Pelicans, a nesting pair of Ospreys, myriad wading birds, and petite Least Terns were in abundance. 

I also caught a glimpse of a sea turtle coming up for air. Oh! As of this write-up, there has been one documented sea turtle nest this season on MacArthur beach -- belonging to a lovely leatherback sea turtle. The park ranger said it's been a slow season so far.

We made landfall on a little spit of land, and I let Duchess out to romp around. She was positively giddy about being able to run around on her own private beach, so she started racing around at top speed. It makes my heart sing to see her feeling so obviously happy and liberated, because she is prone to anxiety in new situations. I am really glad that she enjoyed her kayaking trip.

 After our stop on the little island, we ventured forth into the nearby mangrove alleys. The tide was starting to head out, so the current was swift and the water was receding in the area; it made for some new sights and smells for Duchess to take in.

 Once we made it out of the mangroves, I headed toward the docks at nearby Munyon Island. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the motion of something brown-grey and rather large surfacing and descending. At first I thought it was a large sea turtle's back, but upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a manatee's head! The water was too brackish to get a decent photo of it, but it was really cool to see one in the Intracoastal (I hugged Duchess and laughed in my excitement).

I aimed back toward my launching area, and began the leisurely paddle back to "camp." By that time, Duchess was completely relaxed, and took a short siesta while I moseyed along. It was such a wonderful voyage for the both of us, and I think Duchess gained a lot of confidence today, which I believe to be the most important part of the whole journey. I'm deeply pleased with her, and I kept letting her know that she was a good girl and that I was proud of her (phrases she knows well!) throughout the day.

I'm truly looking forward to our next paddling adventure together.

Look up.

What does your sky look like today?

Weeki Wachee Wander

What a perfectly gorgeous day for kayaking. I had been wanting to go "play with the manatees" before the Florida weather became unforgivably hot and humid. As fate would have it, my day off coincided with one of the coldest days of the year, following a week of cool temperatures. When it gets cooler, the manatees head to warmer waters -- in a lot of cases, they congregate in freshwater springs and near power plants. That combination of weather events practically ensured manatee sightings.

It was FREEZING. The first thirty minutes I spent on the water, I was physically shivering. I was wearing my fleece hat, jacket, and even my fleece neck gaiter (don't laugh, I live in Florida). The cold weather made the warm spring water throw steam into the crisp morning air. It was like paddling through a dream. 

As the current guided me down the river, I took the time to sit back and observe the natural world going about its business. Small schools of fish commuted up and downstream in an orderly fashion. Occasional spring vents pressed up through the river floor, making the underwater foliage dance and sway. I spotted several deer breakfasting along the water's edge, as well as an otter weaving its way through the shallows. 

The water was an unbelievably breathtaking shade of turquoise. I felt an immense amount of gratitude for being able to experience this river on such a perfect morning.

I stopped for a quick mid-morning snack on this sandbar, watching the water swirl past me. 

Finally, I decided to get moving once more; it was far too cold to stay still for too long. As I shivered down the river, I began to wonder when I'd see manatees -- even one manatee would send me home happy. I silently told myself not to get my expectations up, and to just enjoy this beautiful morning, when --

ELATION! Manatees in motion move so much faster than I expected them to. This manatee was cruising against the current with speed and grace -- a current that had all but carried me to this point in the river. In an instant, I no longer felt the frigid, insistent wind. The manatee slowed as it glided past me and surfaced a few yards away from my kayak, then submerged and continued on its upstream journey. It was such a special moment for me, because it was my first time observing a manatee in the wild.

I paddled contentedly onward, enjoying my surroundings. (The Weeki Wachee River is really picturesque; if you have an opportunity to visit, do so.) I reached a spot in the river called "Hospital Hole," which is a 100-foot deep sulphur spring in the middle of the river - a favorite haunt for manatees. I counted at least ten manatees in that spot alone. They would rest with their heads under large rock overhangs about ten feet below the surface, and occasionally come up for air. There was a brand-new baby among them, covered in its infant "fur" and without a scar upon its precious back. Its mother would help it to the surface to breathe.

I spent over an hour in that spot, listening to the manatees breathing, and letting the sulphur spring's swirling current carry me in slow, wide circles around the manatees. It was so therapeutic. If anything is worth waking up at 3 AM to drive four hours for, that was it. Absolutely perfect day.

This is what "nesting" looks like for me.

In a fit of inspiration, I made a console table for my living room. Shout out to my mother for letting me use her driveway as a makeshift workshop.

The console has a sort of rustic/industrial vibe, so I added some decorative hardware in the form of brackets and bolts. They're spray painted with Rustoleum's Oil-Rubbed Bronze. It's a great effect; I've since used it on two lamps, several Breyer horses, and the pig which resides on my kitchen counter.

Obligatory detail shot below. This table was stained with Minwax Special Walnut. I purposely chose boards with crazy knots to enhance the wabi sabi, jolie laide look that I love seeing in furniture.

So here it is, all set up in my living room, accompanied by the aforementioned Breyer horses and lamp. And Harry Potter.

Cabinets

When I think of the shelves I first installed in my van last year -- a rickety construction of plywood held together with L-brackets and improperly-sized screws -- my first reaction is to wince inwardly. My second one is to feel slightly proud of how far I've come with my woodworking.

Since returning to Florida, I dove into my new-found woodworking hobby with gusto: I built my own kitchen table from scratch, and constructed a planter box of my own design for my mother as a gift. Once I got started with my van design 2.0, I built my bed frame -- the one you saw in a previous post -- and began building my cabinets. Behold:

It's a simple enough design; some plywood, 1x4's, and a face frame. Here's a few progression shots to give you an idea of how I built them:

On my second cabinet's face frame, I neglected to follow the golden rule of woodworking: "Measure twice, cut once." I cut my 1x3's an inch too short, so I had to rip a scrap piece of 1x4 down to size and then *correctly* make my final cuts. I am pleased with the result; such a failure in the past would have sent me back to the store for more wood. I'm grateful for the knowledge I've gleaned from so many YouTube channels and web sites I've visited.

For the counter top, I toyed with the idea of using plywood and finishing the edges with laminate. Instead, I opted to go with a top made of 1x6 boards.

The doors, oddly enough, were the hardest thing to get just right. The way they look and contrast nicely with the rest of the stain is pure happenstance, for which I am immeasurably grateful. The insets on the doors are not stained - I only applied some wood conditioner and a wax finish.

The next thing I need to do is install my entertainment unit. So far, much of that work has been me sitting on the bed in the van, staring at the wall opposite me, and visualizing different designs that would work with the current counters. I already know that this one is going to be a pain until I can get out of my head and put my hands to work.

Until next time...

PHOTOBLOG: Cape Disappointment