My kayak was encrusted in snowpack. I snapped off the cockpit cover like a magician deftly tugging a tablecloth from underneath crystal, flinging the snow in one motion to the ground. Then, I dug and clawed the rest from the green hull, hoisted it onto my shoulder, and headed down to the dock. My boots, neoprene with a soft sneaker-like sole, crunched as I walked. I picked my path carefully among miniature drifts and the sharp water chestnut seed pods that poked up from under the cover of white.
Water chestnut is an invasive aquatic plant.
Its seed pods hold seeds for 300 more plants, which it protects with sharp, fish hook-like points. Finally, cocooned in my spray skirt, I began to paddle. The familiar sound of wood pushing water made me momentarily giddy with excitement. I took a breath and felt like I could inhale the sky. To my left, the 42 acre pond was black and flat calm.