Chronicles of the Beale

“Uhh, Jake, there’s a snake in our boat..”, said the startled man. Quick as Steve Irwin, I snatched the water snake into my hands and identified it as nonvenomous to the excited clients. I passed it the father of a little girl who attempts to have her handle it to no avail and the tour begins with a bang! Some days the wildlife viewing begins before we leave the launches, and it’s often that close! It’s not uncommon for frogs and spiders to hitch a ride on the kayaks while we’re on the water and it never ceases to amaze me how startled some folks get over the affair.

I had a twelve-year-old on my tour who was absolutely not okay with the frog that was aboard her kayak. Things became comical, when we attempted to get the frog off her boat onto mine, a second frog appeared jumping from mine onto theirs, and the chase ensued. Some days it’s spiders bumming a lift, which typically ends with a hurried scoop of the paddle back overboard, and other days fish do their worst to jump aboard or scare you plum out of your kayak. Both happened this week! Always exciting and beautiful, the clients and I had a magical time on the water this week!