Just before noon today, John and Diana and I launched one of the two canoes for our use to take a paddle up Bayou Castille. John prefaced our trip by stating that it had been many years since he had been in a canoe. Diana remarked that she was a boater, not a canoeist. Alrighty then. 
We got ourselves out into the bayou. It’s been over forty years since I’ve been paddling in the front of the canoe; I’m usually in the stern and doing the steering. It was a bit unsettling for me. (On second thought, it was a lot unsettling for me) I could just imagine us tipping over as the canoe seemed to be rocking back and forth too much for my comfort.
I had my life vest on and the bayou is not very deep, but I was most concerned about ruining my camera. It took me a while to settle down.
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In our journey, we did come upon an active Osprey nest. The nest was perched in the tallest tree along the bayou. If you really scrutinize the picture on the right, you can see the adult taking off from the nest as we tried to silently approach.
John did a fine job of steering us for our paddle, but I think in the future I’ll be more comfortable in the stern. I may even inflate my kayak so I can take a more leisurely paddle on my own down the back inlets of the bayou for picture taking opportunities. I guess I’m a more slow and steady wins the race kind of person that prefers to investigate small nooks and crannies rather than cover greater distances.
It was a glorious day to be out on the bayou, and I was surprised at the beautiful homes we saw bordering the water as we made our way north.
I’d like to give a little update on yesterday’s post. It garnered some very interesting comments. Yes, I do remember the Grit Newspaper from my time in upstate New York, and I didn’t know that GRITS stood for Girls Raised In The South. 
I’ll be sure to give grits another try, but I really feel it needs additional ingredients to make it pleasant to eat.
On the squirrel front, today I just stuck my hand outside the window in the shape of a gun and shouted ‘Pit-chew’ loudly like a shot from a gun. It seemed to have the same effect on the squirrels and Emma as the actual pellet gun does. Go figure… (of course that could be due to the bee-bee gun that is being used nearby)
As far as the spreadsheet of all of my expenses is concerned, I’ve decided to not log everything into the spreadsheet. Instead, I’ll be keeping all receipts in a bag for a month or two to see if I can wean myself off of the dreaded recording bit. I will be on guard for ‘creep’, however…
Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy
