Lake Time

 The lake level was back up today.

I was so excited to see that, I could barely hold it together.

So I did all my chores and by 11:00 was headed off to the lake.

However, an incident put a damper on my joy.

I was launching my kayak.  I have to back down the ramp, untie it in the back two places, and let it slide out.   I put it upright on the ramp, and start putting in the seat, that clips in, my life jacket and the paddle.   I did all that, then closed up my car.  I still had to beach it somewhere, so it wasn't on the ramp when I drove my car back to the parking lot.

There's only one little beach area suitable because the other one is loaded in driftwood currently.

I paddled around the dock to beach it.  By this time someone was putting a boat in that side of the two ramps.   The man began to yell at me.  He yelled I couldn't leave my car on the ramp. I said it would be for two minutes while I beached my kayak, so I could then drive my car to the lot.  That did not satisfy him.  He began a tirade against "people like me".  I don't know what he meant by "people like me".  Women?  Old people?  Kayakers?  I assume the latter.

He said "you people don't care about anyone but yourselves".   I could not figure out why in the world he would yell at me.  I was not affecting him in any way.   The whole process to unload, load my gear on, and move the kayak off the ramp, get back to my car, is maybe five minutes, far less time than he spent on the ramp launching his boat.  It was beyond my ability to understand.

I gave him two words in the end, two words he deserved.  "F##k off!".   I had to lay out those two words a second time since it didn't take the first.

Some motor boaters don't like the fact there are now far more kayakers, paddle boarders and swimmers using the lake than motor boaters I guess.

He should be happy.  All the amenities at the ramps and lake parks cater to motor boats, like we're back in the early 2000's, instead of current time, when people want to get exercise and get to the lake easily and affordably, not lug a trailer and boat.  We would all love it if a kayak launch chute and parking for kayakers was built.  The money we pay for a yearly permit to operate any floatable ten feet or over on public waters goes to such projects statewide but the counties have to apply with a project.  I think that's how it works.

Took me a bit to settle out after that.  But I had a good day anyway.  It was choppy.  I found a fishing net in pretty good shape, on the far side of the arm, underwater, but I got to it.   I ended up giving it away to a guy fishing from a kayak.  I found a dog toy that at first I thought was a dildo.  It was plastic.   I found a Manna brand thermos bottle, that is in pretty good shape.  I brought it home.   And I ran into a fish line.   I had to get that out of the lake for the safety of others and wildlife, but it proved to be a very long fishline, with hook, lures and sinker no less, maybe 50 feet of line.  I wound it up on a stick from shore.

That purple thing is the dog toy.  Then part of a flip flop I found and threw in the trash once back, and the Manna brand thermos.

That's the stick I wound all that fishline around, the lures and hook are up towards top.  I secured the mass of line with the bungee that had been attached to the fishnet I'd found.  I'd already given away the net but kept the bungee.

Tomorrow early I'll be off to help catch about 20 cats.  So I better get an early bedtime.