We enjoyed our first snowfall earlier this week. The snow was wet and heavy, but made the walk behind our house a lovely winter wonderland. We came back wet and soggy, but was still wonderful to see the snow.

Then we had two ‘in-between’ days of beautiful sunny, blue skies, albeit with cool temps. So we made the most of yesterday with a wonderful fresh-water paddle on Lake Somenos, right from the front yard of Nicky and Derek’s house. Winter is the best time to paddle the lake. The water is clear of algae, the water level is high and we could extend the paddle by paddling up Richard’s Creek.

We used our new boats! We bought PakAYak boats so we could take them in our yet-to-be-purchaed trailer that we plan to tow behind Loytää. These 14′ plastic boats break down into 6 pieces, and fit inside each other like a matryoshka doll and are transported in a rather large, but moveable, carry case with wheels. They are better to paddle than expected, tracking well and pretty fast. They have a large, high cockpit (this piece being the largest one to fit over the others, that takes some getting used to. The flexibility they give us makes them a good investment for us.

So we assembled the boats on the shores of Lake Somenos and set out as a flotilla of 6 boats. During the 2-hour paddle we didn’t see as many birds and wildlife as we hoped, but the paddle was extraordinary, with great views of Mt. Prevost, and wonderful reflections in the still water in the creek. It was such a great time to enjoy the being outside in sun, having good conversation and revelling in the beautiful scenery. It was refreshing to be able to do a paddle in fresh water for a change, and we still marvel, and are thankful, that we can paddle in December.