eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog: More to Life Than...

Amazing as it may seem, there is sometimes more to life than the circus we see every day from our elected officials, appointees, czars, lobbyists, and the like. Occasionally, life takes a swipe and forces one from behind the keyboard and out into the wilds. Especially if one is on vacation. Especially if it's a cloudless 85 degrees. And of course especially if one is on Cape Cod.

On such a day as this, it was incumbent upon me to take my kayak out on local waters for a trek from pond to ocean and back, communing with nature, taking photos, and generally having a life.

Having fought the tide and the breeze all the way downstream from Swan Pond to Nantucket Sound, taking photos of the local wildlife (such as branta canadensis, below) as I went, I decided to beach my craft, stretch my legs, and perhaps take a quick swim before my return trip.

Canada goose (branta canadensis)

Nature may not actually be red in tooth and claw these days, but she sure has a quirky sense of humor. As I was about to beach the kayak, a sudden series of waves gave a not-so-gentle push, the kayak turned turtle, and into the water I went. Unfortunately, also into the water went a Palm Treo cell phone, a hand-held GPS, a very nice Canon DSLR camera, and a small video recorder. All of these were in plastic bags; however not one of the bags was actually sealed. After assessing the damage, trying to dry what I could (not much, as my towel of course was also soaked), I righted the boat, bailed out the small bit of water remaining in the cockpit with one of my Crocs, and headed back upstream, the journey back made easier by the push of the tide and the wind.

Having successfully retrieved from the flash disk the hundred or so photos I took on the trip out, I have some small (very small) hope that the Canon might not be beyond repair. Sadly, the video camera and the cell phone are toast. The GPS, being made for the outdoors, is likely fine.

Great egret (ardea alba)