AstroGypsies

I guess I shouldn’t have told the little red canoe the comments the Camera Club president made about my photo of it…it was acrimonious! “I am not a prop!” it exclaimed. You didn’t show the photo with my dirty bottom it asked?! Of course not I told it this morning, it is lovely and snow covered now! It is SO sensitive! Ha!

So sensitive these canoes. Sure it says, I hang about the dock a lot, sometimes full of water. I don’t drink or do drugs (can’t vouch for the photographer though! ;)..Ha!) maybe I could work harder but the photographer lady had a hard Summer, damn hip bursitis, getting in and out was a challenge, trust me, I saw her! But hey, I’m not just a pretty face, canoe. You just don’t get to see me working! The photographer always has her big lens, so you don’t get to see me gracefully moving along, slowly following the Loons!

We’ve watched them from birth to grown up, awkward encounters, fish delivery and Loon-ercising…exercise for loons;)…and what about my stealth gliding? I’ve shown the photographer a doe sleeping in the shade on a hot summer afternoon, and eating greens from the lake when all the grass was dry!

What about all the bugs I’ve shown her? Getting up close and personal with the lily pads! They brush my bottom! I do it for her!

What about those big birds?! The ones up in the pines. I have to go into stealth mode and slowly drift over to them so she can get the shot! Not easy work I tell you!

…and all those other things in the lake with me! Yup, I have to take her to them as well! Snakes! Beavers! Muskrats! Thankfully there are no Cthulhu’s in the lake or she’d have me looking for them as well!

So yeah, I work pretty hard, prop my ass! I’ve given her to some award winning shots! The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority chose me, the beautiful Little Red Canoe to grace their cover of their 2026 Calendar and be Mr. July, and I took that photographer lady to get the shot for August! Cottage Life included me in their calendar last year as well! I’m a pro! Not a prop;)

You know, she does take her shorter lens with her sometimes as we paddle around the lake. The islands are my favourite. There used to be an Osprey nest on one of them but not this year. I have to admit I don’t like the feel of lily pads scraping my bottom and the photographer lady always makes sure I don’t hit any rocks!

Did I mention I take her out to see the swans as well? They are pretty impressive, especially in the Fall with those reflections!

Did I mention my least favourite activity? Yes, fishing. They put those fish in me! Ugh! Scales, guts, blood! Worms! The smell! They even take a furry feline along as a fishing guide! He doesn’t even share a tip with me! Cheapo!

So, I’ve said my piece. I hope for a bit more respect in the future, my photographer friend loves me dearly and I get Spring spa treatments. My bottom and sides get a rub down and wax. My wooden trusses get sanded and varnished, I even get new mooring lines! It’s pretty sweet, and for that, I try to do my best poses for her when she can’t take me away from the dock, so call me a poser, not a prop. I love my job at life at the lake! She promises she’ll never trade me in for one of those slim sexy kayaks!

Did I mention the pot of gold at the bottom of the rainbow, yeah, that’s me:)

What can I say? I’m a fabulous Little Red Canoe:) I’ll leave you with my last wet bottom shot of the year, I’m on the dock now, turned over and I’ll get back to you in the Spring for another year of adventures! You can admire my bottom all Winter when it isn’t covered in snow! Sweet! Saludos amigos!