Last Paddle on Blue Marsh Lake

Thursday, July 9, 2020

Hi Blog!

Since March, Blue Marsh Lake has been our go-to paddle destination. With miles of shoreline, we have not paddled the same stretch of water twice. Today we launched from the Sheidy Boat Ramp. We had three to four miles of paddling ahead of us in order to reach a section of the lake we had visited before.  Kathy launched first as Dave parked the Jeep. In the photo below, she sits quietly waiting for Dave to catch up.

Just after launch, we turned into a quiet cove and saw this black-crowned Night Heron just sitting on a log. Seen by day, these chunky herons seem dull and lethargic, with groups sitting hunched and motionless in trees near water. They become more active at dusk, flying out to foraging sites, calling "wok" as they pass high overhead in the darkness. Some studies suggest that they feed at night because they are dominated by other herons and egrets by day.

It has been a few weeks since we paddled Blue Marsh. We noticed that much of the lake is now ringed with orange daylillies.

While the main body of the lake can get busy with boaters, the shallow bays and coves are fun to poke into.

We can usually find a birdhouse. This one does not appear to be occupied.

We are always on the lookout for flora and fauna. However, we have yet to encounter any Merryweather.

However, this small island would make a perfect fairy hideout.

We noticed the lake water looked particularly green. By mid-summer many waterbodies turn green due to the growth of small microscopic plants in the water called algae. Algae grow in all bodies of water when light and nutrients levels are sufficient. In many lakes, algae abundance is determined by the amount of phosphorus dissolved in the water. Since the streams that feed Blue Marsh Lake run through farm country, there is plenty of phosphorus in the lake.

We have seen all types of watercraft on the lake. However, this is the first time in all our paddles that we encountered a long distance swimmer. He was towing a safety swim buoy. It serves two purposes. It warns boaters there is a swimmer in the water and it allows the swimmer to take a break and float about and rest.

Paddling is a great socially distant way to get your exercise. However, launching from a crowded picnic area can defeat that purposes. As we approached the Old Church Road Picnic Area, we paddled by as fast as we could.

Having run the covid gauntlet, we could relax and poke into some more coves. Here we found a Great Blue Heron who was actually taking a swim. In all the years we've been RVing, we have never encountered a blue heron actually swimming. It gracefully glided along just like a swan.

Other herons were perched on fallen logs. The lake level is very high. Most gravel beaches are now underwater. The heron, with their long legs, don't seem to mind.

After 3.5 miles, we made it to our turnaround point. Just behind Kathy is where Licking Creek joins the lake.

With temperatures in the 90's, the turtles that were so plentiful in previous paddles were nowhere to be found today. We had just about given up hope of getting our turtle photo when this little guy popped into view. It's a little blurry, but we wanted to document the event.

Kathy loves rocks. The bigger the better. Here is a particularly colorful specimen.

Kathy gets up close and personal with a rocky ledge of folded shale.

As the day wore on, it got hotter and hotter. We tried to find as much shade along the lakeshore as possible. We took respite from the heat in this hidden garden.

As we returned to the boat launch, we realized this just might be our last paddle on Blue Marsh Lake. We leave for Virginia on Wednesday. We will be busy helping our son and his wife buy their new condo in Arlington. We are hoping to be able to spend some quality time with our grandson. It may be a while before we can blog again. In the meantime, stay safe and stay sane.