Nevermind the contradictory name. Arnold Brook Lake is a peaceful little man-made lake located just southwest of Presque Isle, Maine. There are no camps on this lake. Just a few public boat landings and picnic areas. It was this random locality that I chose for my after-work paddle on Monday evening.
Casting off from the concrete boat landing, I paddled some distance towards the middle of the lake, scanning the shoreline for something interesting to investigate. I found a nice swampy area full of dead trees and stumps and headed in that direction. I continued to follow the edge of the lake for a while since it's usually more interesting than sitting in the middle of the lake.As I paddled, I watched a bald eagle soaring and circling overhead as it hunted for fish. It wasn't long before one doomed little fish found itself being hauled away in the talons of it's predator. Some time later I watched a hawk fishing for his supper, and several loons floated around as well, seemingly unconcerned by my presence.
Then, with the help of my handy monoscope, I spotted a moose feeding in a swampy nook across the lake. I power-paddled to get the other side of the lake. As I drew closer, I slowed down to a crawl and barely moved my paddle as she munched away at grass. With her muzzle half submerged in the murky water, she kept a watchful eye on me as I crept closer and snapped pictures. Eventually, she decided that she wasn't comfortable with the oddly shaped, fiery colored object gliding in her direction, and moved on into the trees and out of sight.All in all, not a bad way to spend my evening.
