Turtles, Beavers, and Loons, Oh My!

Yay, we finally got back out on the water today! What a wildlife sighting day it was to start off the summer season. We kayaked the backwater creek of Lake George's Northwest Bay and it sure was good to be back in the clear freshwater again. Beavers have been busy on this section of the lake and we saw several new lodges. This one was the largest of them, and it also looked like they were trying to build a dam across the creek (we also recently saw 4 very large beavers on the upper LaChute River here in Ticonderoga).

Then the turtles were out in full force, sunning themselves and warming up from the 58 degree water.

The highlight of the morning was seeing this loon nesting in the reeds. They build their nests very close to the water because they have difficulty walking since their feet are made for swimming. 

We also saw the same loon earlier in the morning swimming in the vicinity of the nest. It swam underwater right next to Dave's kayak.

To top off this gorgeous day, we saw a bald eagle soaring overhead, and I saw the biggest snapping turtle ever, resting on the bottom of the lake. We are ready for more adventures, but it is going to be hard to beat all we experienced today.

Too Close For Comfort

Yesterday morning we had a new visitor to our fish pond. A Great Blue Heron must have been flying overhead and he (or she) apparently has phenomenal eyesight to spot our tiny concrete pond. 

We stood by to see how close it would come with us standing in the window watching it. Although it became uneasy and tried to sneak around and approach from around the back side of the Rhododendrons, it still managed to get too close for comfort before I chased it away (notice the hummingbird going to the feeder above the heron's head in the first photo).

This gigantic wading bird was too tenacious, so after the third time I chased it away, we put more fencing up over the water. Hopefully the goldfish didn't think the tall heron was someone coming to feed them. Normally they line up at the surface when I come out with their food. What a shock that would be! Instead, the fish are hiding in the rocks and only coming out at night. Maybe they are smarter than they let on to be! 😉

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The Dam Meet

Our first antique outboard meet was held today at the East Sidney Lake Dam Recreation Area out towards Binghamton. There was a nice turn out for this event, although most of the displays were on land. We didn't put anything on display or for sale since we didn't know anything about this venue, but Jim Ryan went with us, so it made for a fun day. Here are a few of our favorites:

A couple of brothers brought their late father's remaining collection of pre-war Evinrude and Johnsons. At one time Dad had over 100 motors. 

#460 last raced 50 years ago. It runs on a mixture of methanol and castor oil, and shoots three foot flames out the exhaust.

An impeccably restored pair of Mercurys that looked like new. The black one is model 110 from the early 1970s, 9.8 HP. The silver one was a late 1950s Mercury mark 20.

This vendor had a great collection of vintage restored gas cans amongst other items.

Here is an identical pair of orphaned Mark 20s waiting for adoption.

A 1928 Penn Yan. These boats are double planked cedar with a layer of asphalt impregnated canvas between the layers, making them watertight.

The Penn Yan had a matching 1928 Johnson opposed twin kicker.

The crates were almost as nice as the antique outboards. The original cardboard box still had its motor and gas tank in it. Ironically it was originally being shipped to an owner in Schenectady.

The owner attempted to run this hydroplane, but it kept stalling and had to be towed back.

I like pink but have never seen a pink outboard before. It is a West Bend brand and ran fantastic.

We also stopped to check out the top of the dam. Looking lakeside, we heard that in 2006 the water rose so high that some of the trailers up on the hill in the campground floated across the top of the dam.

Looking down at Ouleout Creek:

This was a great way to start the season, and if the weather allows, next weekend we will have our Wagemaker Wolverine at its first show.