Tuesday May 20, 2014 Jenner CA.
Wild berry season has started
I was off to kayak Jenner this morning around ten AM. I arrived to a sunny day with light wind, so I put my boat in the water. It was low tide and the mud was showing around the shoreline of the river.
Headed for the river’s mouth area
Since the wind was down I decided to go down to the river’s mouth area for a look see.
I passed these terns resting on the west end of Penny Island.
The ocean was calm today as I approached the river’s mouth area. There were the usual bunch of harbor seals on the beach and some seagulls there too. The river’s mouth was open deep.
I hung out at the mouth area for an hour or so watching.
I was taking pictures at the mouth of these harbor seals.
Drifting the wrong way
I noticed my boat was drifting towards the ocean, out the mouth. I had gotten into some current at low tide and into the current that goes out to the ocean. I puckered a bit and hit the paddles hard to get out of that current. Every once in awhile it sneaks up on me. Not a good feeling thinking I might end up out in that cold ocean water.
Headed up the river
I headed up the river after that. I paddled by this male merganser duck on the east end of Penny Island.
And this bunch of birds that were not of a feather flocked together. A goose, a cormorant and some merganser ducks.
I continued on up the river at a leisurely pace, stopping along the way.
This was my view as I paddled up along the shore line.
Something is going on with that great blue heron
I crossed over the river to the north side as I saw something going on over there with a great blue heron, but I couldn’t make it out?
I tried to get close, but the heron flew a bit further away and I tried again. It seemed the heron had something in it’s beak that was too big to swallow, but it was trying just the same.
As far as I can tell, it had a big ol goffer or something like that with a short tail, so not a rat.
Here is the best I could do with a picture of the heron with the thing in it’s beak. It’s walking away protecting what it had. No sharing.
The rat must be home
Eventually, that heron flew on up the river to get away from me so I crossed back over the river to the rat nest to see if it had been repaired yet, since I messed with it a couple weeks ago. I think it is a musk rat nest, but don’t know for sure?
To my surprise, it has been repaired and beefed up a bit too.
This is the top of the stick nest that had a big hole at the entrance near the top which is now filled in with a bunch of sticks. That means something is using the nest now.
A walk to Swamp Rock
I was wanting to go to shore and eat some berries if I could find any, so I was looking for a shoreline that wasn’t too muddy, so I landed at the Swamp Rock trail in this picture.
Salmon berries
I found a bunch of salmon berries, but they were a bit on the bitter side in this area, which I found out as I sampled a few of them.
I wanted to go over and sit at Swamp Rock which is shown in this picture on the hill side.
But I wasn’t sure I could get over there yet, as I wasn’t sure if the swamp water had dried up yet.
Well, the water had dried up a short time ago, so I was able to get over to Swamp rock and I did.
Swamp rock view
This is my view looking down at the dried up swamp I had to come through to get to the rock, looking back toward the river.
Swamp rock has a fairly good view of Jenner.
I sat around at swamp rock and had a bit of a nap as I seemed to be tired out today for some reason?
Berry heaven
After a bit, I headed on back to the boat, detouring off the trail to look for some more berries to eat. I was looking for the little black berries that should be getting ripe by now.
I was rewarded as I left the trail and cut across some bushes. The little black berries are just starting to get ripe. I found enough of them to get my berry fix taken care of for now.
These are the tasty little black berries I was looking for. I eat mostly the black ones. More will be getting ripe soon.
After I ate a bunch of berries I went back to my boat and headed on in for the day.
Ate a few cherries too
When I got home, I cruised my cherry trees and ate some almost ripe cherries. I have to eat them almost ripe before the birds eat them first.
Well, eating those cherries really tired me out for some reason and the rest of the day was taking it easy and napping mostly.