Finally the weather breaks enough that I can get out kayaking on a local pond. Truly, it has been too hot to even consider kayaking for about five days when the temperature lowers from 96 to the mid 80's, and the humidity falls from 76% to about 60%. I can kayak without risking heat prostration.When I get to the pond, the small lot is completely full. I pull over to the side of the road, close into the woods and off the pavement, and carry my kayak and oars fifty yards to the launching point. A man and woman are poking around with their kayaks, trying to figure out how to get them into the water. I decide to cut in front of them and take forty-five seconds to launch myself into the pond. Yes, after waiting days for this, I am extremely impatient. Pleasant ... but I'm no saint.
What I am pleased to discover is that although the small lot is packed, most of the vehicles belong to people fishing from the trails. People in kayaks, canoes, and other water flotation devices, are few and far between. There is no swimming allowed at this pond (though many do incognito), so none of us needs to worry about whacking errant humans while rowing.
I kayak around the pond, ducking into the coves where there is no one but me and the turtles that sun themselves on the branches and rocks that jut out of the pond. The entire open-water area of the pond is completely people-free, and it is easy to maneuver or just sit and drift. The water is calm, the sky is bright blue, and the only cloud in the sky is a small tuft of white that looks like a tiny blemish on the wide expanse.
Now, if the weather would just get under 90 degrees again (next two days, at least), I might consider going out once or twice more.
