Farmington River Kayak 8-24

B and I took our kayaks over to the Farmington River a couple of weeks ago.  We put in at Curtiss Park in Simsbury.  This, so far, has been the best place for us to use.  The beach area is wide and slopes gently to the water.  We kayak upstream toward Simsbury and then back to Curtiss Park.

The great thing about the kayaks is that we are able to get pretty close to wildlife.  I know when I have hiked in nearby McLean Game Refuge, I can never get close enough to the turtles at Spring Pond to get a decent picture.  They always hear me coming and plop into the water.  On this trip, we were able to get right up near the turtles without them going in.  In just one snag, we saw seven turtles.

Painted turtles (Chrysemys picta)

Can't keep that boy out of the water.

I know there are freshwater shell fish, but I can't say that I have ever noticed them before.  We came across a lot of small shells on one of the banks.  One side of the shell could fit neatly over my finger.  B was out in the water and could see some at the bottom.  All seemed relatively small.  I do not know what they are.  I'll have to pay closer attention next time.

Also along the riverbank, we saw Jewelweed.  I have seen a lot of this on hikes recently.  In fact, after being exposed to Stinging Nettle on our last hike with our homeschool group, we saw some Jewelweed and talked about using it as a remedy for our pain.  The leaves and juice from the stems can be used on poison ivy, too. 

Information from the Connecticut Botanical Society:

The ripe seedpods pop open at a gentle touch, hence the name touch-me-not. Water drops bead up on the leaves, and a leaf held underwater has a silver sheen.

Jewelweed or Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis)

Some kind of tickseed sunflower?

The highlight of our paddle came when I was finally able to get some pictures of a Great Blue Heron.  We had seen one on our paddle upriver, but he had spotted us first and flew away long before we were within camera range.  Another time, we were looking at something else along the edge of the river and he was right there.  We just didn't notice until he flew off!

Then I saw him fly in for a landing around the bend in a little cove.  We very slowly and silently made our way there.  We did see him catch something with his beak before we were too close.  I was able to take quite a few pictures.  None that really show that shaggy plumage, though.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

In flight.  Ungainly at first, but look at the size of those wings!

It looks like the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a camera set up on a Great Blue Heron nest in Sapsucker Woods.  When I looked, there was no one there, but maybe you'll have better luck.

We were out on the water for nearly three hours!  What a great way to spend the morning.