North Versus South

Porter Bay, Vermont

44 13.71 N 073 18.97 W

When it's calm, Porter Bay is one of out all time favorite anchorages. This morning is such a moment. It it totally calm and still. The surface of the water is like a reflecting pool, and the lack of wind or man-made background noise makes it possible to hear the sound of surrounding nature. We also have the whole place to ourselves. No other boats with people are in this bay today.

I find that I'm drawn to compare the ecology here with that of Little Shark River in the Florida Everglades. Both places offer unspoiled nature, but the two are so very very different. Forgive me for favoring that of Porter Bay. I'm native to the Northeast. I like this best.

First the sounds. With no wind, and no background highway noise it's very quiet. Occasionally I hear a train whistle from very far away, but that's it. The silence allows me to hear the kersplash sound of fish jumping. There are lots of fish and they too like the still moments to spot insects floating on the surface. Where are the fly fishermen? We also hear the birds, lots of birds. The songbirds in the trees are most persistent, but the gulls are the noisiest. We can also see and hear the Osprey foraging from their nearby nest. I'm listening for the screech and graak sounds from the nearby eagles and great blue herons but I haven't caught them yet this morning. This morning, there are just a handful of ducks and cormorants swimming and fishing in the bay. They're pretty quiet right now. But wait, the world is waking up. First I heard the engine of a small plane, then another plane, then a barking dog, then a jet airliner far above. Time to start blogging and stop listening.

The sights: Around the edge of the bay are dense forests. Here the forests are all leafed trees; a thorough mixture of species. In the fall, the colors are particularly nice here. In the bay there is an encroaching patch of reeds, and some smaller patches of lily pads growing in the shallows. Human habitats aren't far away, but none are directly visible from where we sit. To the East, just peeking above the tree lines is the summit of Camel's Hump. To the West we face the spectacular limestone cliffs on the New York side of the lake. These cliffs soar vertically 300 feet above the water and 200 feet below the water. Behind them are the Adirondack Mountains. Today is a splendid summer day. Calm and warm. The sky is cobalt blue with a few puffy clouds here and there.

In the Everglades, the quantity and diversity of animal life are much larger. Birds, fish, dolphins, turtles, alligators, crocodiles, deer and raccoon are all around. The place we like to anchor sits on the boundary between salt water and fresh water environments so it is inhabited by dual populations. Diversity of the plant life doesn't seem to exist in the Everglades. Everywhere we look we see mangroves, nothing but mangroves. Of course a few other species exist, but they're obscure. In Porter Bay we see fish and birds, and a few deer. There are bears and raccoons and weasels and otters in this area but we haven't spotted them yet.

One of my big ambitions is to see a Kingfisher fishing. They do live around here. Libby saw one but I haven't. That I have to look forward to.

So which is best; Porter Bay or Valcour Island or The Little Shark River? Must I choose? I love them all. Thinking back though, a large share of my favorite stories about the joys of cruising are based on past experiences in Porter Bay. Those stories are my favorites because they burned images and impressions in my brain that last a lifetime. I've already told several of these stories in this blog so I won't repeat them now. Suffice it to say, that I feel very fortunate to be able to be present here this morning. It's hard to get better than this.

Wide View. + marks our spot. Note Otter Creek nearby that leads to Vergennes.


Narrow view. Note the farms behind the veneer of trees and nature that we see. Once again, we benefit from the veneer effect. Sitting here in the bay it's easy to imagine that there's nothing but wilderness out there.