nice recovery

sunrise:  6:23

After a series of minor disasters that threatened to thwart my dawn outing, I enjoyed a lovely paddle on my favorite Adirondack lake.  At least - the photos tell me that it was lovely.  I only got to enjoy a fuzzy version of it first hand, since my opening act of the day was to dive into the glassy waters with my glasses on.

Still feeling coated with the dust of the road, grimy from the 10 hour trip that we had completed at 12:30am, I decided I needed a swim before I did anything else.  It was the first time that I have been aquatically immersed under the light of pre-dawn.  It is sublimely beautiful to stand chest deep in water under the rising light of day.  My appreciation of the spiritual experience was cut short, however, when I realized what I had done.  My source of sight was somewhere on the lake bottom.

I didn't want to miss the sunrise, however, so I carried on, lack of vision notwithstanding.  As I rushed to haul out the kayak in my state of lost glasses anxiety, I dropped my cell phone, which tumbled into the shallow water on the shore.

On another day, I might have decided to read the warning signs and quickly get back into bed before I could do any more damage.  But I persevered.

In spite of all, it was still an early start to the day.  I shoved off onto the still waters.

Without sharp vision to dominate my sensory world, I concentrated on the sounds of a distant loon, the desultory cry of an indecisive crow, the periodic splash of leaping fish, diving upwards for breakfast.  I wonder if any of the fish dove upwards with their glasses on by mistake.

The air is cool, but sultry with humidity and warm enough to be comfortable in a wet bathing suit out on the water.  It was soft air, a subtle caress over the skin.  It was so still that it was air I could barely feel, except when I picked up the paddle and pulled through it for a while.  I almost hated to move.  My paddling felt like a rude intrusion upon the serenity of air and water, but then I would stop and sit still for a while, and everything recovered to its former somnolent state.

It is nearly impossible not to be moved by this place, this setting, these suspended moments in time while floating quietly on the water.

.......

........

no glasses, no cell phone, no matter...at least for this moment, which matters quite a lot.

(by the way -- I found the glasses, quietly awaiting retrieval amidst the minnows.  phone looks okay.  all is well)