Sessions Woods, Burlington, CT

I took these photos on a hike at Sessions Woods. This was a new place for me. It was quite interesting and very pretty. The incoherent stream (aka babbling brook) that seemed to be at every turn...

 A large marsh area sort of dedicated to whatever (invisible) beavers may be living there....

The pretty display of various water plants being discussed by an elderly British couple that suddenly became pointedly silent when I arrived on the scene. (well....excuse ME!)...

The adorable little birds that laughingly refused to come within camera range....(and repeatedly called out mocking remarks at me)

The fire tower that I climbed half way up; stopped to look; became terrified of the old, slightly rotted look of the wood and the realization that if I fell or if it toppled down with me in it there was no one around to come take a picture of it.....then slithered back down like the coward I am....

The waterfall that wasn't really but thought it was, so I had to give it the satisfaction of taking a picture....poor thing.....

And remember that incoherent stream from before?.....yup, still there. 

There was also a very nice museum of stuffed wild animals that ranged from all manner of birds to deer and black bears. (I was afraid to ask where they animals came from) I didn't take pictures because I was eager to start the hike and when I got back it was closed....next time I'll get pictures. 

Surprise Safety Check

When Kaylee and I headed out for some kayaking at the lake I had no idea we'd be getting an inspection when we got there. This was new for me. I had some amazing luck working for me however. I had just cleaned out the trunk of my Buick and tossed most of the stuff into the trunk of my Toyota for lack of a better place to put it. I was greeted by an elderly man that turned out to be some kind of official (I never pay attention to titles....perhaps I should have in this case) for the state of CT. As I was readying the kayak for the water he was asking me what started out to sound like causal questions but ended up being very specific questions. Then he told me who he was and that if I wanted he could certify my vessel by doing a safety check. I said sure, why not?

As it turned out I was more prepared for safety than I knew and I also found out I knew next to nothing. I've always had a life jacket for Kaylee and myself and that has been the extent of my safety equipment. Now I'm aware that a whistle and a bell are mandatory as well as either a flashlight or flares! As it happened I had a whistle; flashlight and even a small emergency kit....all from the back of my Buick. Most of this stuff falls into the category of hiking equipment. But if it can do double duty for the kayak I'm cool with that too. 

So with all our gear stowed and her life jacket on, we were on our way in no time.  

These tiny little flower like plants(above) were a new discovery for us. So of course that put us in the mood to really travel around the lake and look for more new things. I was a little shocked at just how large the lake is...having been going there since I was 16 yrs old I never ventured out from the public swimming area. This time I did...and even paddled far enough out so that for a moment or two I found myself wondering where the heck we were! Next time I'll have to make sure I take note of some landmarks to assist in navigation. 

The awesome looking plants above were just amazing to me. I've never seen them before and I was so happy the picture came out clear enough to show them so well. They are growing from the bottom of the lake (this was in an area where it was about 3 ft deep) and stretching themselves in coils up to the surface for sunshine. So cool! 

And for the first time ever I saw an eagle flying at the lake too. Never in all my life have I seen eagles there and there were two that day. How fantastic! What a great day we had!