Earth Day---The Brighter Side

The day before Earth Day, that would be a Sunday, my day for doing want I want, like worship. So even though it was spitting ice pellets, blowing 25 mile/hr gusts, and holding a temperature at a pleasant 39 degrees, I decided to go down to the river. Now, I know that has biblical implications and that is OK because I was looking for religion. I was looking for the earth.

I walked, which is fitting, because after all, earth day is a day to consider the health and wealth of the ground on which we stand. I consumed no fossil fuels to pollute the air. I simply walked like a deer or a raccoon, just not so gracefully for reasons having to do with age more than my basic lack of animalistic skill. It is true, I was probably wearing clothing made form at least some unsustainable products (no silk underwear) and the fishing pole was not made of cane but of carbon composite that had petroleum components.

I felt generally organic and within a reasonable range of sensitivity to Mother Earth. Most importantly, I was out to see what this earth had to offer right here in town. The weather was dynamic, if not testy in its attitude, much like a nice glass of red wine, even robust, maybe contentious. I was delighted to think that I could put my face to the wind and adventure to the Tomorrow River to embrace the gifts of nature.

I took to the east side of the river on the lawn that had been manicured just for me, just below the roaring dam, where I drew out my trusty fly rod and launched a very favorite Purple Egg Sucking Leach, better known as a Lawyer Fly. This went on for some time with my efforts being thoroughly ignored by what I knew to be numerous trout---I had been told by Rick that they were laying in there like cord wood. Not discouraged, the line was launched out numerous times as I put on my best crouch of disguise. Nothing.

Somewhat distracted, other opportunities had to be considered. Earlier I had noticed a small rotund bird visiting niches in the rocks at waters edge, a bird with a yellow rump. I took it for a Warbler but they come in such variety, non of which I personally know, I tried to ignore the pairs efforts but finally decided to snap a photo with camera I brought along to take pictures of the six pound trout I was going to catch.

At about the same time, it was impossible not to notice six, that would be six, Osprey working the air waves above the south end of the pond. They were doing a wild spattering of moves and occasionally would do their hover routine probably looking for the same fish I was, but never doing the dive bomber attack. Mostly they were doing what we used to call grovin'.

Somewhat distracted by the chattering Cardinals and love-struck Robbins, I moved to the west side thinking a new presentation was needed. I was, after all, a fisherman. While stumbling across a snowbank, that is right, a snow bank on Earth day which I suspect is still natural but irritating, my next move with the Lawyer fly (Barristers Delight)  was placed mid stream in A-River-Runs-Through-It fashion---or just like Brad Pitt which was how I saw myself.

There it was the big hit. He went left, then right, struggled against my efforts, a 10 inch Brown Trout surfaced fifteen feet out and then gave into my skillful efforts (remember Brad Pitt). I snapped a photo and told him to go back and grow up. Full of myself and ready for the movies, I cast for another 30 minutes without attracting a minnow, then moved up the dredge bank to see what was happening in the pond.

Across the way, some 100 yards, a pair of spectacular Hooded Mergansers drifted in contentment almost admiring the ice crystals, the geese jabbered, and the Ospreys did some nice aerials while seeing if I had any fish. A couple of Woodies screamed over, and then in mid pond a Musk Rat appeared much like the Lock Ness monster, but slightly smaller. I moved in for a shot and he did a U2 dive not really wanting to see Brad Pitt. He disappeared under the dock and if he could have bitten me I am sure he would have.

So on this glorious day, I paused and reflected, realizing I had had a incredible outing, and reflected on the town in which we live. Wow, we have nature, we have the earth right here. In southern France we saw no song birds as is the case in many places in the world. We have cold pure water with fat trout that have fed on abundant aquatic insects, we have a lake where some healthy fish live to feed those wild diving Ospreys, Even the musk Rat that hates me.

In looking around the town from that vantage point, I realized the community had not grown is size in over 100 hundred years.  While in 1900 most of the trees had been cut down and many of the local assets plundered, in the last decades much had returned as land and river use had been improved in thoughtfulness. I was not hard to imagine that it was this lack of growth that had made this all possible. Had there been uncontrolled development none of this would be here. We were living in a stable state economic condition, probably not by choice but by default, and as a result, Mother Earth had returned. It was a great day here in the upper Midwest