More Yachting with G

Sooner or later, every blogger will experience a post that widely surprises expectations in terms of popularity.  So it is with my first posting of Yachting with G which has turned into one of my most popular posts.  I still do not understand why, but I'll take it.  

Hurray for summer!  I didn't know if I'd have the oomph to return to Rensselaer Lake (also known as Six Mile Waterworks), but when a couple of 90° days showed up on the weekly weather forecast, I felt my second wind kick in and when it arrived, I was ready and made my first return to the lake.  The first thing that I noticed was that the algae in the main lake area has spread considerably.  As reflected in the picture posted below, the algae has moved out substantially from the tree line.  This worried me somewhat as I was concerned that perhaps the algae may have grown to the extent that it may have grown over the narrow passage leading to the back water of Rensselaer Lake.  I'm happy to report that the narrow passage is open and due to the recent rains may even be a bit easier to travel than last year. I suspect that this passageway may receive some special attention due to L.L.Bean's adventure excursions which are conducted on the lake.

The water seemed a little murkier than the previous year, but I attribute this due to the recent storms that have passed through the area.  I did spot one tree that appeared to have been recently downed, having new leaves and laying into the water.  Other than the murky water, the back water of Rensselaer Lake was as scenic as ever.  As I've noted in my prior post, the L.L. Bean company runs their excursion tours on the weekends.  I'd definitely recommend booking a tour at their Colonie Mall store if this is of interest to you.  It is a great introduction to the lake and basic kayaking.  While I think the L.L. Bean tour is a great introduction, I definitely prefer visiting the lake during the weekday when there is less people and better opportunities to see more wildlife.  I went on a Friday and saw many turtles, a mother duck and her babies, and a blue heron (camera shy and unable to get a decent picture with my 3x optical zoom).  I am posting some pictures from my first outing of 2013 below: