First Timer

There's a first time for everything, and for this young Cliff Swallow, it was his first flight. While he made it safely from his nest to the wire (sorta), he seemed unsure of how to get back. That's something I can understand, especially after today.

I went camping yesterday for the first time in my life, set up a tent, and even took it down. I enjoyed myself playing I-Spy as animals passed by, leaving the tent open except for the mosquito netting. Given my confidence in how well I handled everything, I figured I would get on the row boat, drift around the lake, and take photos. It sounded like a great idea at the time. After all, how far could I drift?

Ah, the question I wondered about, but figured it wouldn't matter. I see people rowing frequently when I go to various lakes. No biggie, right?First off, once I got into the boat, I untied it, but wasn't drifting, even though I shoved away from the dock. I think it took me about five minutes to realize I had an anchor in the boat that connected to the dock. Oops!

With that figured out, I heaved the anchor onto the dock and shoved myself away again - into the boat beside me. Crap, how difficult can this be?

Taking a deep breath, I tried again, this time also adding the use of the paddle. I did drift - toward shore and nearly went aground. Oops, hopefully, nobody saw.

Okay, some twenty minutes later, I finally figured out the secret to drifting. I used one paddle and figured out how to turn left and right. Easy!

I relaxed, put the oar back into the boat, and began snapping away. I'm not sure how long it was before I noticed I was headed for shore again, but this time I wasn't close to the dock. Since I'd been drifting backward, I needed to go forward.

Rowing, what had I gotten myself into? I grabbed both oars, used my arms like I did when we did arm rolls as a child during exercise class. The only thing I succeeded in doing was soaking myself. Perhaps I used too much force?I tried a gentler touch; I didn't soak myself again, but I started to go in circles. People make it look so easy!

The harder I tried, the worse the situation became. Not only did I come close to going hitting land, but I couldn't even do that correctly - I now had to avoid the sharp rocks. I don't know much about boating, oh wait, that's clear, isn't it?

I was afraid of putting a hole in the boat and sinking. While the thought bothered me, I was concerned for my camera equipment...I tried rowing forward - sweated pools, getting dehydrated, but on the plus side, I went back to the single oar method and was able to turn left and right; also, a slight breeze kicked up. The breeze aided me in my attempt to get back into deeper water. It helped a little too much.

I found myself in the middle of the lake. I could see the dock, the boats, and regretted more and more my decision to 'drift.'I was aware that I now had people watching - on both sides of the lake. I could hear the laughter; humiliated, I tried harder.

Finally, out of breath, frustrated, and debating whether or not to call the resort for help (a horrible thought), I took another look at the dock. Wait! All the boats were parked (does one use that term?) backwards. What if I rowed backwards?

A miracle, I was moving, and moving fast - and better yet, I was going exactly where I wanted to go! Wow! Like my little Cliff Swallow, I got from one place to another, but getting back seemed a bit impossible.

When I finally did make it back to shore, the owner was there to greet me - a good thing, because as I crawled out of the boat, I slipped. Had he not grabbed me, I would've plunged into the water, soaking my camera...

This little youngster did make it back to his nest, and his expression probably mirrored my own today. I made the mistake of having the ISO way to high, so to correct the noise, I highlighted the blue (clouds would've been nice!) despeckled, and then added a slight blur.I found his plight amusing. Many people found my situation amusing. I can now identify with this little tyke, but hopefully, like me, this little one has a sense of humor.