Kicking Frog's First Day of Spring

Ah spring is trying to sprung! The ice is gone from the Credit River but the weather is still on the cool side. This is really not important because we know we cannot go winter camping (the ice is breaking up) so let's get our canoe’s dust off. It is a Sunday morning in early April; Kicking Frog looks good and it is time to load up and get going. Pads for the canoe to rest on top of the car, oh yeh here they are, our paddles, I know exactly where they are!, our PFD’s, yes on a nail in the garage just above the Kicking Frog, Oh darn almost forgot our knee pads, and of course the straps to hold our beloved canoe securely on top of the car. Hey we are ready to go.

Well just a few more things and then we can go. Gotta have a picnic, so I ask the little one to put some goodies together, fluids of course but a nice bottle of wine for our special occasion would be a treat. Because of the coolness still in the air, we take a fleece, gloves, rain jacket (just in case), we are dressed for an early spring paddle and so away we go.

We anxiously jump in the car and I remember that in order to have our picnic you have to have a blanket ( a moving blanket) it works great! And one other item that you can never forget, your camera. Now we are ready to go. Oh yeh, sun glasses, most important when on the water. All the little things you need, ain’t it great.

We arrive at the put in, take the canoe off the roof, throw all the "little things" in and down the hill to the dock. There is absolutely no hesitation in us getting into Kicking Frog, (just like it was yesterday). As we get in we notice the brown murky water from the spring runoff. We can hardly wait.

I wonder about how easily we will paddle again, will we be in-sync? The little one and I paddle as if we have not taken the winter off. This feels so good to be back on the water again. The thoughts of what will happen and what we will experience today starts- nice feeling.

As we paddle we talk about the last time we paddled up the Credit and the enjoyment we had. We have the same feelings already. The wild life is incredible in this urban setting. Canada geese, swans swim right up to us, red winged black birds busy finding twigs for their nests and their soon to arrive new ones. A muskrat moving along the reeds, sees us and quickly disappears, pairs of mallards bobbing for something to eat, pigeons perching on the hydro lines. We have seen deer and red fox on other trips up the Credit but not today.

We paddle up as far as we can; the fast moving current is against us; this is OK because it is time for some thoughts of what we have seen, but the idea of a nice glass of wine on the side of the river on the blanket with the "little one" is overwhelming. So, and because I know how to steer the canoe, over we go. Some treats that Kathleen has prepared for us, some wine, some sharing of what we have seen, wow.

As we drift back down the river our thoughts are of the planning of our upcoming trips and adventures, and how lucky we felt to be back on the water. What a great day we have had!