Oops a daisy

So Tuesday after I was discharged from jury duty because the defendant copped a plea in the court room, something the judge claims happens in fewer than one in ten cases on the day of trial, I drove home, marveling at what a beautiful autumn day it was. Once home, I decided I'd go for a paddle about the lake. It'd be the first paddle of the year as I only got the canoe out of storage a week ago and it has been either raining or simply too windy for safe paddling by myself.

After getting launched, I remembered my wife's admonition against dying by drowning (she claims it is her right to kill me) and my promise to put a PFD (personal flotation device, aka "life jacket") on as I was going alone. So, I struggled into the fool thing, zipped it up, took no more than 25 strokes with my paddle when I got stuck on a stump submerged in the cove to the west of our place and promptly proceeded to lose my balance and dumped me and the canoe over.

Damn that water was cold. Did I mention that it has been raining and windy and generally downright unpleasant for a while? It has also been cold, too - in the thirties and low forties at night with highs in the fifties during the day.

Fortunately, I was in shallow, albeit soft-bottomed water and able to partially empty the water in the canoe. That made dragging it to shore where I drained it dry before paddling home much easier. While I was cold, I wasn't hypothermic due to the continued activity and the fact I was wearing a thick wool shirt as proof against the wind. Wool is still warm, even when wet, unlike most synthetic fabrics.

My wife found my bedraggled appearance quite amusing. Truly, so did I, although I wasn't about to let my wife know. Have to maintain some semblance of dignity, don'tcha know.

So that was my unplanned swim. Just glad to be able to report the circumstances in person.

And So It Goes...