1.The act of delivering or the condition of being delivered.
2.Rescue from bondage or danger.
3.A publicly expressed opinion or judgment, such as the verdict of a jury.
Que the banjo music............
I just watched the movie deliverance..........
.....and I got to thinking about my own personal canoe trip with family here in the south in WakullaCounty. Down the Wakulla river. It was a little different from the movie canoe trip but wasn't without it’s own excitement.The river has many creatures about, and after all, the movie.........
...creature from the black lagoon was filmed right here in the Wakulla Springs and River.
It’s been a long time since I had been on a canoe. In the city of Boston, we didn’t do the canoe thing, we had our own sort of water exploration........
Pretty tame...huh?
Back here on my Wakulla river trip, we did not have anyone shooting at us, but we did have large creatures following us, more on that later…We did not prepare much for our canoe trip. We had no provisions to speak of, after all it was just a three hour tour..(where have I heard that before?) But we did take some essentials, just in case..
I think I was on the river for 7 minutes before I had to break a bag open..
I must say, it was a pleasant trip down the Wakulla river, taking in the sights and sounds of the local area...I did get a chance to view some of the area that was just off of the river. Do you think the house below is inviting?
We didn't, so we moved on. Sights like this just fuel my imagination. Is this a summer home boarded up? What's with the bottles all lined up? There is a string on the brick, why? When was this place last inhabited? Just the way those 2 x 4's are nailed up gives you the "stay away" message.
I also took this photo of an area we passed on the trip......
I think if you listen real hard, you can hear the faint sounds of a banjo. This reminds me of the time I had a "deliverance" experience when I was out and about in the local woods recently...I write about that moment in time here...
Damp cool silence. Slight breeze, naked trees and overcast grey skies , oddly very silent but for a faint radio playing deep in the woods, I stop to hear and train my ears to focus on the music, a damp mist moves about the cold naked trees...dead silence but for the faint sounds of the radio..an odd but glorious moment indeed.
Have you had one of those moments?
Back to the canoe trip..... I must tell you tho, that you haven't lived until you have had a 2,000 pound creature float under your canoe in a graceful manner. I am not talking about that black lagoon fella........
The Florida manatee, Florida’s state marine mammal, is a large aquatic relative of the elephant. They are grayish brown in color and have thick, wrinkled skin on which there is often a growth of algae. Their front flippers help them steer or sometimes crawl through shallow water. They also have powerful flat tails that help propel them through the water. Despite their small eyes and lack of outer ears, manatees are thought to see and hear quite well.
Manatees can weigh up to 2,000 pounds!......Do you think we might have had a "sign" that we may come in contact with these creatures? Maybe our pre-trip photo may have given us a hint..
More photo's from the trip.......
I was enjoying the wildlife but was at the ready at all times. If I heard any banjos during this trip, I was ready to paddle faster ...
This trip was a true deliverance for me. I am very happy life has delivered me here. I am very fortunate as a Yankee to experience all the sights and sounds of a quiet and beautiful Southern meandering river. Taking time to enjoy nature and relax. All the while thinking of my time up east rushing through life and spending hours in traffic each week, just to get to work only to turn around and go back home into the same traffic
It was a great time and even better that we did not come upon any mountain men or banjo music along the way and I didn't even have to squeal like a pig!
