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| 7:00 |
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| 7:33 |
I was up before 6:00, to a starry early morning sky, no moon that I could see. Dawn, as usual, comes slowly, in kitten steps, and now the sky is a soft cream, with swatches of gray clouds over the entire Lakeside Road, though the sun has yet to arise over the horizon. The lake is shimmery, creams and grays mostly, waiting for the sun to peak out.
We have wanted to take our kayaks to Findley Lake and yesterday seemed like a good day to do it, sunny and warm, in the high 60's. Findley Lake is about twenty miles from Woodlawn, a 300 acre lake created in 1815, by building a dam at the north end of a stream. So we wedged out kayaks on the roof of our Pilot, strapped them on, and endured the hum of the straps as we drove to Findley Lake, no problems fortunately. We parked at the north end, took the kayaks off the roof, waded through leaf strew waters, before settling in our kayaks for a two hour tour of the lake.
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| On Findley Lake |
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| Lots of Decks |
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| Home, Dock, Deck |
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| Southern Portion |
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| A Gaggle of Geese |
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| Dressing Rooms? |
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| Most Attractive Photo Of Lake |
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| Mc Mansion |
We paddled up Sunnyside, the west side of the lake, coming back along Shadyside. It was a fine morning to be on the lake, and we were in no hurry, just a leisurely paddle, ogling the houses, taking occasional pictures, surprised at how many weeds we had to paddle through. And the lake seemed exceedingly low, as the docks, all permanent, unlike our lake, never reached out to the water. We both wondered why have a dock if it didn't reach the water. And how was one to use a motor boat, even a lift? Perhaps the lifts were dragged out into the water and to use your boat, you would have to wade out, lower the boat, and somehow climb in before driving off. Puzzling unless the water level has been lowered for the winter(which it has, we discovered but still, raising it cannot make a great deal of difference). Even so, the lake if higher would hardly reach a dock. Not only were we surprised by the weeds, but the south end, especially on the west side, reminds us of a bog, shallow, mud, tree stumps, making us wonder why one would want to build a house at this end, how they could possibly use their water front, yet new houses have gone up recently. Our final surprise was the number of Canadian geese on the lake, at least a thousand, some three or four hundred settling in various bays, littering the water with the feathers and droppings. We thanked our lucky stars we have a house on Chautauqua Lake, not Findley. Perhaps that's the reason why so many houses are for sale.
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| Island On Findley Lake |
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| Sign on Island, Where George Washington Supposedly Slept in 1753 |
We got home around 1:00, had lunch and Evie was out on the dock before I could finish my lunch. Another great day to enjoy the water and reading on the dock, as we realize our days of leisure and sunbathing are numbered. At 3:00, I took my car into the garage, to get an oil change, brakes checked, tires rotated, all for twenty bucks, a deal if they know what they are doing. While they worked, I had a coffee at Starbucks, too chic and not welcoming like Ryder's Cup, and stopped at Evans for some libations, preparing for the long winter. When I got home, around 5:00, Evie had cut and mulched the leaves in both Leonards and our yard though this morning, you would hardly know it as the leaves continue to fall, a never ending battle it is, to keep the lawn green and leafless.
We bought a pizza and with a salad, we had another easy dinner for Evie. We watched Stewart and Colbert, then Thursday's episode of Parenthood, a show we continue to enjoy even after five seasons. I continue to enjoy my book ISTANBUL PASSAGE, as the writer mentioned one of our favorite restaurants, Rejans, founded by three white Russian sisters in the 1930's, famous for their chicken kiev, which we always ordered, along with frosty vodka with lemons, from one of the sisters, always dressed in black. One of the characters was warned about the chicken kiev, that when you cut it, beware of the butter splashing on your lap. How true.
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Glad you were able to paddle Findley . We have had a cottage on Findley for 3-4 years . I think after Labor Day is the nicest time on the lake. The weed cutter is put away and the lake is dropped about 3-4 feet I would guess. The water will go out past everyone's dock so we don't have to take them out every year. The boaters are gone and it truly is the most peaceful time of year. All kinds of geese, ducks,mergansers and even trumpeter swans come through the area on their migration. A couple of bald eagles are seen periodically and it is truly a magical time of year. The southern end is the shallowest and used to be referred to as the" stumps "because of tree roots and stumps of trees left in the bottom of the lake. Fisherman love this area for finding their prise . You must of cought it during the transition which takes a few weeks to lower. I am so glad you got to paddle it and hope you come back again.
ReplyDeleteKent; I may have been a little negative, extreme and inaccurate in my blog. We loved kayaking the lake, didn't realize the water was lowered, thus our wondering about the use of boats. We will look for bald eagles next time. And we will be back for sure. Thanks for the reply. TD
ReplyDeleteHi TD. I only came across your "Kayak Paddle Around Findley Lake" post today (10/15/2018). The lake always begins to be lowered on October 15 each year. The runout is at the north end, where the waterwheel is located. This was used to run the saw mill back in the day. Occasionally, for various reasons, the lake is lowered early. We had to do that a couple of years ago so repair work on the damn at the north end could be started before winter set in. Everything Kent mentioned in the comment above is accurate. Our docks are for the most part permanent. They are built to reach the summer lake level and then, when the lake is lowered are no longer in harm's way of the ice that freezes on the lake. When the lake is at normal (summer) level all the lakeside homes have water along their shoreline. The tree stumps and mud is nicely covered and that south end of the lake is a quiet and serene location. We do have weed issues similar to Lake Chautauqua which are handled very nicely by our weed harvester team. They are out in the spring and all summer long controlling the weeds and access to the boat docks. After labor day, weed cutting abates and does not resume until the lake is returned to it's normal level. In addition to the birds Kent mentioned, we also have herons, hawks, ospreys and all the other song birds you would expect. So yes, we moved from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Pittsburgh (which we loved) to Findley Lake which we are in love with. The community just entered a revitalization phase. Last Saturday we unveiled a 70' mural depicting the history and present day activities available in the area. Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/findleylakenychamber/. I hope you will return and do some more kayaking and partake in what else the village has to offer. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWow, how nice to get a comment to my post in 2013. Obviously, we love the lake, often walk around it, hit the restaurants, like Alexanders, but have yet to return to kayak. We will though for sure. I am sorry but I am not sure who you are? Do we know each other?
ReplyDelete