High Noon

 

The tilt on the whirl at Zenith

Otters on the edge

 

I first saw them in late August. Three young otters playing and splashing in the shallows around the edge of the old beaver lodge, near the lake edge, near the ground water seep. Stalking them for a photo opportunity resulted in a quick disappearance each and every time. I wasn't sure they would stay, as there are several lakes within a mile of here and one just over a 300 yard divide. But they persisted and were a pleasant encounter for us, every few days. By September there were two. I like to imagine that they were two sisters and a brother, the male striking out on his own as the weather got cooler and he matured beyond hanging around with the family. Maybe though, number three fell victim to the vagaries of the predatory segment of the local environs. Its a tough place around here, with eagles, loons, coyote, bob cat, and the odd but always possible grey brother. Fortunately, the local trapper has grown up and moved to the big city.

As the dogs and I encountered the otters on our lakeside walks, they would always be well away from any attempt at a photo, teasing and taunting the boys at some safe distance from shore. Eventually they began to use the dock as a sunning, eating and marking platform, leaving fish bits and loads of poop for the finding. Otter shit is powerful stuff to a dog, especially the rolling bit !! Try as I might, I could never get a picture, even with trail camera attempts. They would use the dock whenever I would remove the SD card for download. I started calling them the Murphy twins.

Now with freeze-up closing in, we find them at the edge of the ice, and the game continues - Otters periscoping and bronx cheering the dogs - Dogs woofing and alerting the Otters that they see them and best be ware. Perhaps they will spend the winter in the now abandoned beaver lodge or in some yet undiscovered bank den. Perhaps they can graze down the sunfish population at least a little. Perhaps there will be an otter slide down the steep bank above the seep. That would be cool.

Inevitable

 Close now the sound of lapping waves will soon cease

locked away through long dark days ahead

 

same thing but not quite or "The Best Birthday Gifts Ever" !

 

In the same tree as before

yet four years further down the road

i reflected on the same things that usually come into my idle time mind

Mostly Madness

then the phone buzzed with the long anticipated news of less Madness

and a buck walked up

and the meter went click to start trip #69 around the fireball

Not So Fast

 

 Most all the physical attributes around the digs are stashed, stored, drained, dried, covered or otherwise prepared for winter.

But my psyche.... .......

Not so much

Green beans and tomatoes but weeks ago.................

Asters the last of the flowers to go.................

Perhaps the fishing will hold for a few more days.............

The forecast does not look favorable. We may really be in for it. I am not down with stiff water.

Message from the Big Toothed Aspen

In the middle of the trail this morning, a reminder that cooler days are not so far away.

Roadside Beauty

Blondie and I had to go into the big City today
couldn't be helped
Medical attention required
It is harder than one might think to be a hermit
but there is sometimes Beauty
Even along the highway

post Flag Day in Northern Minnesota

Are we ready to concede that winter is actually over ?
Or are we prepared for early snow...............

Ms Winklestien and Mr. Pike seem unconcerned what season at present

Getting fat on bluegill and perch

Catch and Cook

These sunfish are all males and all about eight inches in length and all around 6 years old. They can't compete with the biggest males in the population, for females and nest sites and nest guarding. They are on the fringes of the main action. They are the ones to catch and cook. Sustainable and delicious.
And very fly rod friendly besides all that.
 

Lake Street is Burning

I live far away now
among the the trees and ponds
wind in the pines and scent of plum blossoms

But once long ago
I shared lunch and smoked weed with the brothers
my brothers
as we watched a foreign war from the ship yards of Philadelphia
and neighborhoods burning on both sides
of oceans

Yet we were brothers only of the day
as they went to their quarter and I mine
after our daily wages were won
theirs likely skinnier for their precious time
and we would not together
know the dark

The skies were grey from smog and smoke
the river putrid then
oil in the wind and tar on the soles
as protests raged that hot and humid summer
nearly too much for a Minnesota boy
to comprehend

all those miles from home
race
equality
environment
the ghetto
the violence of authority
the War

Will we undo now
what we knew as truth then
that we were different
different
in language
and mannerism
and humor
and color
and experience
and for no good goddamn reason
different
so I went to my quarter
and they theirs
at the end of the same day's labor

Lake street is burning

and the toads began to Sing

Finally the weather has warmed.
Several daytime highs approaching 70 have produced signs of spring most welcomed.
Last night the panfish were reliable biters, even in the easterly wind that has dampened anything resembling a good bite for the past week.
Then at dusk a toad sang.
And after dark a full chorale

Toadie hybrid

General Fishing Opener

A week ago, the general fishing season began for the inland waters of Minnesota. Pike, walleye, bass, and trout in lakes became legal quarry for anxious anglers.
Known to all Minnesotans as "The Opener", it is a great circus event that kicks off the tourist season, whereby hundreds of thousands of hopefuls plug up all the highways, small towns, and boat landings up north - and spend oodles of money at the resorts, bait shops  motels, restaurants, gas stations, gift shops, etc.
Covid-19 changed much of that this time around, forcing plans to be modified and in some cases, cancelling long standing traditions altogether.
A statewide "stay at home order" was in effect.
One of my chums referred to me as a "good Minnesotan" because I elected to be a non participant in the annual event.
Easy for me.
I fished off the dock at home.
And the weather was fabulous................... 2" of new snow in the first hour. And don't you just really groove on a stiff NW wind gusting to 35 MPH.
I lasted about 90 minutes before being chilled to the bone.
Fabulous I tell ya !

 Thirty one inches of pull. Ms Winklestien enjoyed a few licks of slimy pike.

Pearlies on a pike tail, or perhaps goldies. Who knew ?

The pike were on it though, and there were seven that slid onto the dock, with this one getting clunked on the head and relegated into a crispy fish dinner. 26.5 inches. Just legal and just right.
Generally speaking, it was generally pretty damn fine.

 

Socially Acceptable Gangster

Fishing close to home the other day, I purchased gasoline on the return trip.
Exiting the store, I saw this image on the side window of the truck.
No one had batted an eye, gotten excited, called the cops.
Nothing
A changed world indeed.

Sub-nine

At last they arrive
beginning perhaps
the finest time of the fishing year........

Now That's Brisk

Which temperature unit of measure sounds warmer
negative nine celcius with a real feel of negative 15
or the more familiar
positive fifteen farenheit with a windchill of positive 5
such was the dogwalk this morning
Damn
Neither

Twisting a few hex nymphs is one way to cope
hopeful for the weekend
of warmer temps
and that the trout
have not forgotten
about eating
the hex

Spring Thaw Special

Whitetail Brand Dog Kibble
Now available in bulk, but for a limited time only !
All natural and pro-biotic !!
FREE !!!
Get yours now !!!!

Endorsed by Ms Winklestien and dogs everywhere.
Offer good only until the ants emerge.............

Yes and No

The sky was full of geese this morning
and the fish did not bite
east to west they passed
flock upon flock

Number One

Scarcely any bare ground yet
and the ticks are out and about !!!
This one is less than 1mm
and appears to be rather plump
Not what I was expecting but not so surprising

The Recession Begins

There is indeed a dock beneath that ice

November last it was about four inches above the lake's surface

but the lake level steadily rose through the fall

right into freeze up

Forty eight hours of continuous thaw

completely changes the look of this reality

solid to liquid

with but two degrees positively positioned 

leaving sixty odd inches of snowfall melted upon the ice

And then just at sunset

there is a burst of robins winging in from the west

small flocks

first a five

then a twenty

another five

and another

landing high in the big toothed aspens they pause

silently as if keenly scouting ahead for the 

all clear

from others ahead in their path
then hurtling off across the lake

cackling their fellows on

Vernal Coronox

 The glacier that rides upon the barn roof begins its calving
as the forest trails turn to slippery mush
a new youngster learns to fetch
and the outside world shuts down

 Hunkered down and twisting a few walleye trinkets
methinks time stands still perhaps for the
city dweller who
marks the day by things other than
the sun's progress

 We will track the recession of snow and ice
emergence of moss and mud
advancing our treks farther into the lengthening evenings
soon to paddle, cast
and water retrieve

We Don't Get Fooled Again

So Happy New Year then..........

  

Meet the new Boss
Same as the old Boss
We won't get fooled again.............