And then I got Rabies....

This morning started very sunny but the forecast said in the afternoon there would be thunderstorms. We decided that this morning would be a great time to do some kayaking. First of all we went to dunking donuts to get some breakfast and headed out to the kayak rental place. We discussed issues of how I would get into the kayak and the team there were extremely helpful. We paid the fee and they helped us get into my first kayak. I couldn't take my iPad so there will be no pictures on this post but I put my camera in a zip lock bag, so expect some pictures when we get back. After a short lesson we set off down the swan river. It took me a little while to get the hang of it and Sam was steering, it was a dual kayak, but I soon got into the swing of paddling. We paddled right up the swan river and into swan lake where the wind picked up a little and we encountered some waves. Nothing too big but enough to rock the kayak a little. After a little sight seeing tour of one of the islands, we headed back down the river. Only this time we had the wind in our faces. We saw a few other people out enjoying the river and plenty of the local river foul. If we continued rowing, we would of paddled past our cottage but by this time we were both starting to ache and pulled up against the rental place's dock. We rolled out of the kayak after having throughly enjoyed the experience. I'm going to have to do this again sometime, that was a lot of fun. Now, not only did my lower body ache from the day before but now my upper body too but I was smiling! 

We came home just in time for a spot of lunch. Burgers and hotdogs again with ice cream and hot fudge for afters. Delicious. The weather was still good but the forecast still predicted thunderstorms in the afternoon. We dried off a little and thought the natural history museum would be a good bet, especially as the weather was due to turn. 

It took a little while to get there and the museum itself was only a small building but it had some great exhibits. More stuff on the cape's infamous visitor, the great white and a lot on the local nature. They had a bird watching station, where there were bird feeders and we sat there and watched the birds for a bit. We saw some cardinals and a very familiar little friend. We looked him up in the book and found out our little nesting family at the cottage is a family of black crested chickadees. It's nice to put a name to the bird. They also had an osprey nest you could see on the marsh. A pair of birds with three babies. Pictures to follow when we get back.... Sorry. I even tried to get some good pictures of the chipmunks scampering around the base of the feeders but they were quite quick. 

They also had a small aquarium there and I managed to get some pictures of some of the local areas sea life. 

That's me looking through a tank of jelly fish. 

A blue lobster that Sam though would be good eating. Me..... Just let him be, I think.

And this little ugly fella.

We went outside and looked at the boards about the walks. They had some lovely looking walks around the marsh lands, a couple in the woods and one right up to the beach. Although I had my crutch we thought better of doing any of them because I ached from the day before still. It was a real shame as it looked beautiful out there. 

On the way back Sam took a peek into a couple of shops that had peeked her interest on the way and we started to head back. The skies were still clear, no sign of the impending thunderstorm. We stopped off to get some beach shoes as those shells can be sharp under feet and after Sam's experience with the foot-crab she felt she needed a pair. 

It was coming up to 5 o'clock and we planned to go to the beach. We would bring the boogie boards the cottage provides and my kite too and finish up the day there. However, as soon as we had that set the clouds rolled in. It was as if they heard us make our plans. We went to the beach anyway to see if we could at least fly the kite. There were a couple of people with theirs already up so started to set it up. No sooner than I had it set, just tying the strings on, it started to rain. No kite flying tonight! 

We headed back and thought about an evening in. Sam started baking some brownies and we ordered a pizza. After dinner it was dark and we popped outside for a smoke. The rain had died down, still some spots but it was quite warm still. So we stayed outside watching the storm. There was plenty of lightning but the wind wasn't too strong at that point. We listened for thunder as Sam drunk her margaritas, slowly getting quite drunk, and we sat there spotting fireflies which lurked out on the lawn and in the bushes. The occasional flash flash of light the only indication of their presence. 

Sam nipped in for the bathroom and I sat out quietly watching for fireflies when I noticed, what I though was a large cat, sniffing at my leg out of the corner of my eye. As it's nose touched my leg, I looked down to say hello to my new feline friend. That's when I realised it was no cat. It was at least three times bigger than any cat I'd ever seen with a black and white stripped face. It was a damn raccoon! Scared me to death when I realised what it was, I didn't want this thing biting me and sending me to hospital for big injections in my belly. I shouted out and the furry devil scarpered off towards the dock. I have to say it was a beautiful little creature but I didn't fancy catching rabies. Sam heard me shout and thought I was just squealing about the fireflies, she was shocked when I told her what actually happened. The raccoon must of climbed onto the deck and wandered behind where Sam would of been sitting right up to my leg for a sniff. 

The storm started to pick up and more rain came, Sam was drunk by now and managed to walk into the screen door on her way out. The wind whistled, lightning flashed and thunder rolled, it was an impressive little storm. The deck furniture started scattering. The second table and a couple of chairs found their way into some bushes and the rocking chair flipped up, even the fishing net took itself for a walk. It didn't last too long and soon it died down and we could hear the calls of the bats on the marsh calling as they feasted on the little bugs out there. It was a very entertaining evening.