Just got back from a nice quiet swim in a no wake lake that has very little traffic on it. Sort of showery here in West Michigan so got a cool rain shower while swimming. It is really neat watching it come down the lake and then the little splatters as you breath. Then about my turn around point. I look up for sighting and there, directly in front of me, is this loon about 15 feet away just watching me. Had to stop and tread water to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. When I started swimming again, it dove and I figured that it was gone. Turned around to swim back and there it was again. I swam left and it swam right to make sure we didn’t bother each other (my intent at least) and then it paralleled my course for a couple of minutes.
It’s the little things that really makes training fun. Also different than some of those shark stories ; ) Looking forward to my trail run this afternoon!
On a group ride yesterday, a groundhog ran out of a field right in the middle of our paceline. It went smack into one guy’s front wheel and knocked himself cold. Really wierd.
On a group ride yesterday, a groundhog ran out of a field right in the middle of our paceline. It went smack into one guy’s front wheel and knocked himself cold. Really wierd.
Was he looking for his shadow, or just tired of looking for his shadow?
thats totally cool man, I worked at a summer camp last summer, while in a canoe at 5 in the morning just for some exercise i went around a small island just off the main shorline at the lake, and like 10 meters away on the side of this small passage were 2 loons, I sat there for like 20 minutes no trying to disturb them in anyway, eventually i turned around and returned to camp, and would hear loon calls in the background. It was awesome, later that day i tried to tell some of the councellors that i had seen two loons, some believed others were like “i bet” as they rolled their eyes.
Very nice, I used to swim in a similair lake when I lived in Washington state and it seemed like birds like to watch us swim for some reason.
On Sunday I was running along a country road and noticed a bird’s shadow over head. The bird followed above me for several minutes and I was grinning like an idiot, enjoying the moment. Love that stuff!
There is a loon that like to watch my wife swim at the gym. Underwater with goggles. I’m going to hurt him soon.
I’ve totally shut down my swim and gone into “slow cruise” mode for a lap or so because I swam up next to some hottie and didn’t want to pass… DAMN I love Kits pool!
There are idiots all over the place. Could make a case with the life guard about stalking. Nice thing about these open water swims - it is just you and what ever out there (the what ever being non human). I would hope your wife wouldn’t mind a feathered loon watching her.
Had a similar experience last year at the same lake - swimming a couple of miles and saw a vulture pretty high up. It kept getting lower and lower while I was swimming back and forth until it was maybe 15-20 ft off the water. I know I smell bad, but I thought the water would mask it. Pretty erie feeling when you wonder what the bird know that you don’t. Shades of Monty Python - “I’m not dead yet!”
Every so often, I go through a stretch of time when it seems like every time I go running, I really do end up with a couple vultures circling overhead. I know I’m a sucky runner, but still.
A couple years back, there were hawks nesting close to one of my pools. Seems like you’d see them circling just below treetop level every time you did backstroke.
And on a quick bike the day before Gulf Coast this year, I darn near hit a blue heron that had just taken off from his spot in the pond by the side of the road. He wasn’t paying attention, was maybe 3 feet off the ground, and seven feet in front of me, and I’m slamming on my brakes thinking “I don’t want to be picking feathers out of the drive train”
It is a sizable water bird that is a fish hunter; doesn’t move well on land because their feet are set so far back. They tend to inhabit northern lakes of the US and Canada. Their call is really unique and soothing to listen to.
