When I row, I sit on a seat in my boat. I made movable rowing stations when I made the boat so that it can be rowed by one or two people at the oars. I installed oarlocks to accommodate different rowers and the seats move about. Of course one rows facing backward. There is a definite sense of riding in a boat. You sit and the boat holds you up.

When I canoe, I can sit on a seat, though the seats are lower and closer to the water line of the boat. My canoes all have caned seats. I learned to cane seats when I made my Wee Lassie and I enjoy the process so have used cane for the seats on all of my canoes. But my preferred position for canoeing is kneeling just behind the center thwart. I have a stuff sack filled with foam that I sometimes put between my knees and can dit back on as I paddle, but I can also sit right up on my knees to get a really vertical stroke out of my paddle. I use a modified Canadian stroke when I’m paddling for distance and prefer paddling on the right side of the boat, though I also practice paddling on the left to keep my body prepared for those windy days or for times of paddling with a partner when I need to be able to switch sides. For freestyle paddling, I like to be on my knees, with my stance as wide as the boat, so that I am sort of planted in the boat and don’t move about at all, or when I do the boat moves with me.

In a kayak, however, I am wearing the boat. My kayaks have foot braces and padding to keep me in my seat and to make the boat move with all of my body movements. This gives me great control and when I edge the boat, it never feels like I might tip it over.

Despite the beautiful weather that we have been enjoying late in to this autumn, I do make a few deferences to safety in off-season paddling. I wear a dry suit just in case I take an unexpected swim. I also ten to paddle a kayak instead of a canoe. Just pulling the spray skirt over the cockpit makes the boat quite a bit warmer than a canoe. And, since my kayaks are lighter in weight than my canoes, it is less effort getting them to and from the water.

The feeling of wearing the boat and having it be a part of my body is a great feeling of freedom as I paddle around the lake. I feel like I don’t have to think about what direction the boat is pointing. It goes where I want it to go without my having to think about it. With the greenland paddle, I often just slide it to one side or the other so that the paddle sticks out more on one side or the other to trim the boat for wind or other conditions. These motions are done without conscious thought. My mind is free to look at the scenery and think about the beauty of the day.

There are plenty of years in the hills when I don’t paddle in November. Last year the boats went into storage in early October and stayed there until spring. But I pulled a kayak out of storage on Saturday and paddled both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. I’m likely to go paddling again today. The weather has been remarkably warm and I have the lake to myself. The docks have been pulled out of the water on Sheridan Lake, so it is a bit more challenge to launch a motor boat. That gives me the lake at mid-day. I’m still adjusting to the end of daylight savings time and it seems like the sun starts to set awfully early in the afternoon, but that gives me a different mood and view of the lake. After a summer of paddling sunrises, now I get to see what it looks like when the sun sets over the lake.

Of course, the ducks and geese are gracious about sharing the lake with me, though the geese complain and the ducks make a great show of splashing their way into short flights if I paddle too close, There are still plenty of fish rising on the lake and I’m pretty sure that the fishermen are still having good success when they do get to the lake.

I’ve been thinking about light quite a bit. I made reference to light, reflection and transparent surfaces in my sermon yesterday. The way that light reflects off of the lake is amazing. The reeds and cattails at the edge of the lake have put on their fall colors and their reflections in the smooth surface of the water doubles the color that my eyes get to see. I get double everything.

Yesterday as I paddled, I was amazed at the sky. It had been cloudy earlier in the day, but the sun was peaking through and there was quite a bit of blue sky with some dark clouds and a few white ones as well. The clouds spread across the sky in a dramatic fashion and I kept looking at the ver-changing sky. Because of the reflection in the water, I got the show doubled for the same admission price. I’m always a little bit disappointed with my pictures. Though they show the reflections clearly, they don’t really capture all of the colors or the grandeur of the sheer scale of the lake before me.

Paddling a kayak puts me right at water level. My seat cushion is about the same depth as the boat sinks into the water with my weight, so My perspective is a water-level view of the world.

That perspective straightens out my attitude as well. It is impossible to forget gratitude when you witness such beauty. It is difficult to hang on to anger and grudges when you paddle.

And, as I often say, “Canoes and kayaks can be expensive, but they are a lot cheaper than psychiatry and often just as effective.”

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