Things can get a little rough when you go to bed in the morning, and then have to get up later that same morning.  Scott and I were going canoeing, so I managed to get up and pull myself together. Coffee always makes things better...we got the canoe loaded up and headed off for the Wacissa River.  We met up with Scott's daughter and her husband at a boat ramp. Sarah and John had a spiffy green kayak, and the four of us put in and paddled down the river.

The Wacissa is one of those beautiful spring-fed Panhandle rivers, and there were a number of kayakers and canoers out on the water this day.  There were also several airboats, which are incredibly annoying for everyone else on the river.  Imagine your neighbor mowing his lawn with a 747 at 6 AM and you get the idea.  Fortunately, those folks moved off downstream and peace returned to the river.

There were herons and egrets of all kinds as we paddled along, and twice I caught glimpses of Swallow-tailed Kites, one of my favorite birds.  A Red-Shouldered Hawk cried from a tall cypress along the bank. These birds are the whiners of the raptor set - for some reason, their call sounds like serious complaining to me. We paddled up a small spring run where the clear water was deep and blue, a favorite swimming hole for the locals.  The cool water felt good on a hot day.  Clouds rolled overhead, and we got an occasional spatter of rain.

Back on the main river, we spotted a large River Cooter sunning itself on a raft of vegetation.  Scott angled the canoe around so that I could take some pictures, and we were able to get pretty close.  I kept waiting for the cooter to take off into the water, but she didn't, and finally we got so close I wondered whether I couldn't make a grab for it.  I slipped out of the canoe and found myself waist-deep in Coontail (Ceratophyllum). It was hard going getting through that stuff, and then I started getting bitten by some kind of little critters who objected to having large mammalian legs intruding into their living space.  This wasn't working, so I hauled myself back into the canoe, and Scott skillfully put us into a clearer area directly behind the turtle. I jumped in again, and here the coontail only came up to my thighs, so I could move a little better, although the little bitey things were once again chewing on me.  I moved slowly forward towards the turtle, raising my legs high to keep on top of the coontail.

I got about five feet from the cooter and she decided to move, but when she crawled into the water, she too was held up by the coontail.  Aha! I still had a chance!  I thrust forward, reached out and grabbed her up. Yes!  I turned back towards the canoe with her so Scott and Sarah and John could have a look at her.  She was a beautiful turtle, at her prime, her carapace covered in moss.  I was still getting bitten below deck, but John and I held her long enough to take a few pictures before letting her go on her way.

Thunderheads were rolling in, making ominous noises, and we decided to get off the river and not take any chances - as Scott pointed out, he and I were sitting in a conductive metal container.  What a beautiful river, and I was happy to have caught a big cooter with just a little effort, though my legs looked pretty rough for the rest of vacation.