It's a Miracle ... Prairie Dog

It was Saturday but didn’t necessarily feel like it. Of course that had everything to do with it being the long 4th of July weekend. No kids in the house, so it was pretty quiet. I was up at 815am, which is late by compared to historics. Shortly after my waking and heading downstairs, my mom was up and downstairs as well. I hooked her up with a cup of coffee – black with sugar then off to my PC for a while.

It was too long before dad was at the door, there to pick-up Glenn and mom for breakfast and then driving mom to Logan where she made arrangements to meet Ronald, who was picking her up in her own car. I’m pretty sure that I headed out on a run before they all departed. I know this for certain, I ran three miles in lovely conditions – a sunny, warm, but little humidity.

Helped carry mom’s gear to dad’s minivan. Before the three of them pulled away I clarified when they might return since Mindy and I planned to kayak somewhere later that afternoon. Glenn shared that they’d likely be gone for most of the afternoon. It was nice to have a quiet house again, just Mindy and I. Shortly after my return from a run I hopped in the Pilot and headed to Strader’s on Riverside Dr. figuring to pick-up some annuals to replace those damaged by Jacob & Rocky while they played from the deck Thursday evening. I wasn’t too thrilled with them but by this point the best thing I could do was replace and forget. Mindy already apologized for letting Jacob play soccer from the deck after I warned her that this might happen. And the only reason he was doing so is because she grounded him for poor behavior. From my perspective, I was the one punished.

Strader’s was surprisingly busy, but not so much that I could navigate the aisles. I surprised as I was with the crowd, I was even more surprised with the inventory. Lots of flowers on hand. I bought a few tuberous begonias (think giant flowers) to replace the damaged Reiger’s. I also bought a hanging basket of vinca (not the vines but rather the annual flowers). The flowers resemble impatiens, but they’re sun lovers. Was in and out and on my way home after 15 minutes.

Carried the flowers to the deck then headed inside where Mindy was busy cleaning. I fetched a few plating tools then headed to the deck to sink the new flowers. After replacing the damaged flowers I fed all the deck based annuals with Miracle Grow. Must’ve filled my watering pail a dozen times. It was either that or attach the sprayer attachment which wastes fertilizer. Mindy came out to check out my handy work. She really likes the large vinca pot.

After watering and fertilizing all the plants Mindy made sandwiches. It was good. We then discussed our options for kayaking. I went to my PC to check out some options. First, I scoped out how we might access the Scioto River downtown. Aside from docks at Griggs and then at the Whittier St peninsula, there wasn’t a whole lot of info where one might put in kayaks. In addition to a put-in, we were concerned about parking our Pilot safely too.

I then checked out Prairie Oaks Metro Park. That looked like the best option for the day. After all, we’re still kayaking rookies. Prairie Oaks three kayaking ponds, two of which are quarries – 80ft deep. I read an article about a 21 year old college kid that drowned there this past March while kayaking. For some reason he was out there without a live vest with water temps in the 30s and capsized after trying to get his dog back in the kayak. Sad.

I shared the venue with Mindy. She agreed to head there. We’ve been there before and liked the park a lot. It’s been five years or so since we were last there. I readied the kayaks and our safety gear then packed a small cooler with water and Gatorade. We left the house near 1pm with the kayaks in the back of the Pilot, just like the day we brought them home from Dick’s.

Headed out Roberts Rd to Walker Rd. to Carter Rd. Easy drive and lovely afternoon – about 78 and sunny. Once at Prairie Oaks we settled on the double pond and parked fairly close to the put-in. We had to carry the kayaks maybe 100’ from the lot to the water. No biggie.

The water was cool but clear. After kayaking in our pond, it was nice to be in clean, clear water. Put-in went without a hitch. We agreed to paddle around the rim. Very nice! We paddled around the rim of both connecting ponds which entailed going under a low foot bridge. We saw turtles, small fish, herons, and geese. Maybe 6 or 7 other kayaks/canoes out. My guess is that we were out on the water for about 90 minutes, which was a decent workout, especially for our first paddle away from home. By the way, we used our water bags, and I doubly secured my cell phone in a Ziploc baggie inside an old water proof fannie pack. I took a few pics carefully. With the kayaks, I’ll likely put my waterproof Olympus camera back in service.

Getting out and loading for home was straight forward and simple. Both of us were really tired. And I was especially thirsty. Home near 3-330pm, we made a snack then took a nap. I’m guessing that dad and Glenn were back near 5pm. While got in the shower, I ventured down to chat with them. Mindy and I had already roughed out plans to do dinner at CBC, her preference. We incited both dad & Glenn to join us but both declined. In fact, dad headed home around 545pm. Glenn said he was too tired and felt grossly under slept, just like the rest of us. It would be just Mindy and I.

Thinking it was near 630pm when we headed out. CBC wasn’t that crowded. We got one of the three up front parking spots in the main lot. Vince was working the bar, which made us very happy. He might be the most attentive bar tender ever. I know he’s Mindy’s favorite. Just after we arrived, Hilary and Ian showed up. We met the two of them last winter, I think. She’s a 1st grade school teacher, too. He’s a financial advisor.

They didn’t have any Bodhi, but I didn’t mind. Heck, we have a full, unopened growler in the fridge at home. I went with the Ohio Brew Kettle Kitka – a Chocolate, Coconut stout. Good, not over powering. We enjoyed some pretzel bread but no risotto balls. For my second beer I ordered a CBC IPA. As for dinner, we shared a side salad which is more than enough then ordered separate entrees. Mindy went with the NY strip special. I went with the Walleye over risotto. Yum! My dinner was delicious. Neither of us could finish. We took the rest home. Mindy got the check.

Yawned all the way home. Guessing it was near 930pm. Glenn was up and fooling around online and playing guitar. Mindy headed promptly to bed while Glenn and I enjoyed a couple more beers from the deck with our guitars. Like weeks past, I was really grooving after 3 or 4 beers. Kenny eventually walked down encouraging me to play more. Said we sounded great. Thing is, we were just winging it, no particular song.

Maybe 15 minutes passed before Teri stopped down too. Said she wanted to say goodbye to Glenn, whose company she always enjoys. We hung together for maybe another half hour or so before the two of them left. Thinking it was near midnight when I finally called it a night and headed for bed.