Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Out There Anyway

I went out kayaking on Monday, only the fourth time this year. Each time there has been a scrim of clouds in the west, the water grey with silver sparkles where the sun shone through weakly. Monday, the clouds were thicker, the lake still and smooth. The colors were muted, grays of tree trunks, dark green of the evergreens. Long rays of light streamed through cracks in the clouds. My grandmother used to say that this was the sun drawing water and was a sure sign of a storm. Old French legend calls the rays a stairway to heaven for souls going to God. Any way you look at it, it was lovely. The lake is full and running over, the little streams coming in with a chuckle of falling water. The brush alders along the shore have put out dangling yellow catkins, a sign of spring in spite of the lingering chill.


As I turned to return to the boat ramp, the clouds parted, the sun streamed out and blue sky and white clouds were reflected in the still water. Suddenly all the colors were brighter, sharper. I had thought of several reasons not to bother with kayaking on Monday afternoon. How glad I was that I went anyway! It got me to thinking, how much else do I miss by finding good excuses?