Sometimes when the cold winter wind screams, seeming to carry nothing but cruelty and pain, it can seem like the best thing to do is scream back. Feet planted and shoulders squared, lean in and let loose with a howl, a yowl or a yelp. Play with the tone and vary the pitch, high, low or otherwise, but always, always keep the volume right where it should be, turned up all the way to 11. Continue reading
Once in great demand for their fur, beavers were close to extinction not so long ago but, thanks to a decline in their value, fewer trappers and more conscientious recovery efforts, they are now numerous in many places, even to the point of becoming pests. Unable to tolerate the sound of running water, they dam streams and plug culverts, flooding roads and valuable stands of timber. Their activities can threaten property and even lives when their numbers become too great.
Changing the landscape and altering the environment to suit their needs, the wetlands they create provide food and shelter for a wide variety of wildlife. Turtles, frogs, ducks and other animals take advantage of beaver ponds. Dragonflies and damselflies dart over the water, resting on cattails and reeds while native brook trout rise to take mayflies, mosquitoes and midges. Muskrats take up residence in beaver ponds, eating plants that thrive in the warm, slow water and digging tunnels into the soft banks, expanding the wet edges and increasing the potential for property damage.
There are several robust populations of beavers on the property of the Neverwas Nonesuch Angling Society and when the road to one of the camps along the shore of Fish in a Barrel Pond was threatened by rising water and muskrat tunnels, the search for a solution fell to me. Continue reading
Daylight lengthens but the cold deepens, even as Earth’s northern hemisphere begins tilting again toward the sun. Shadows retreat southward, slowly, day by day, and the sun peers over the ridge of the barn roof but, due to a seasonal lag, it will be some time yet before more sun means more warmth. This is the cold time.
Just how deep and vicious the cold will be remains to be seen. Whether it will be a long, protracted spell or wave after bitter wave of chill air is still a matter of conjecture but one thing is for sure: the cold is coming and it is time to get ready or go away.
When you register to vote in Vermont you must take the Voter’s Oath (also known as the Free Man’s Oath) where you “solemnly swear or affirm that whenever you give your vote or suffrage … you will do so as in your conscience you shall judge will most conduce to the best good of the same, as established by the Constitution, without fear or favor of any person.”
Good stuff. Use your vote for good and don’t let anyone influence you otherwise.
I have been reading about long lines to vote in many places. I think this is a good thing, although when I went to vote this morning I had to wait a few minutes because all three of the booths were in use. It’s a busy day in our little village clerk’s office.
Our Village’s Polling Place
Rock on, people.
Good morning!
We are just over half-way through the season, here at Fish in a Barrel Pond. Just two and a half more months of being on-call 24/7! It’s not like I have to stay awake, waiting for something to happen, but I have to be around just in case. You never know when there will be an emergency like someone running out of toilet paper or one of the kitchens getting ransacked by a marauding band of raccoons. Or someone having a heart attack. Yeah, two someones, each with a very different outcome. You’ll hear all about it after the season ends.
My point is that my work days are very long and entire days off are non-existent. I get pieces and parts of days to myself every once in a while – and nothing personal against you, my seven loyal readers – but there are places I’d rather be than in front of a computer. Like on the pond for example.
Those would be otters.
That would be a loon.
And that would be a toad that did not quite make it across the road. I don’t know why I threw that picture in here.
Anyhoo, Quill Gordon is still alive and well and he hopes you are, too.
It is a bit of a gamble, declaring the last Saturday in April to be Opening Day at Fish in a Barrel Pond. Not only is it possible that the pond could still be covered with ice, there is also the chance that the cottages will not be accessible or have no running water due to frozen water lines. It is a mad scramble to get things up and running once the thaw sets in.
Some members of the Neverwas Nonesuch Angling Society clear their calendars months in advance, flat-out lying if necessary, to be here for the first day of fishing and the celebration that comes with it. They all know that Mother Nature has the final say but the possibility of postponement is not an option for me. I must plug away as if nothing could possibly go wrong even if it means I am still patching pipes as the last of the lake ice disappears with mere hours to spare. Continue reading
A Somewhat Disjointed and Not Quite Complete Accounting of My Whereabouts for the Past Few Weeks
The transition from snowbound no-man’s land to lively, functioning, family fishing camp took place quickly this year at Fish in a Barrel Pond. It did not happen in the blink of an eye, or even overnight, but it happened fast, the rapid progress seeming even more so because of the tremendous amounts of ice and snow remaining at the beginning of the month. Small patches of ice remain, tucked up against the north sides of buildings, and snow can still be found in some shady, deep-wood recesses, but no other vestiges of winter are seen. Continue reading
It is snowing again here at Fish in a Barrel Pond. No, wait a second, it has turned to rain. Nope, now it is sleeting. We are caught in the middle of a battle between seasons and the incumbent seems to be holding its ground against the usurper. But winter can not stay forever and signs of its demise are beginning to appear. Continue reading
There’s not much time for this because I must get busy packing for a really big move! Old Quill’s got a new job as a claims processor for a major insurance company based in Newark, New Jersey, and it begins next week.
I will be living in a large 250-unit apartment complex between a major highway and an industrial railyard so no more snow shovels for this kid! Someone else can shovel snow and if anything ever breaks I’m sure the building superintendent will be happy to get right on it, pronto. And if the number of police cars outside the building is any indication, it must be a safe place.
I will have my own cubicle in a climate-controlled environment and I will get to wear a tie every day! They tell me I’ll get used to the humming of the fluorescent lights but I’m just happy I won’t need sunscreen and bug dope any more. My new boss has suggested I get a watch because I won’t be able to tell time by looking at the position of the sun any more. He’s a very helpful guy and I’m looking forward to working with him and the other 75 people in his department.
No more trudging through ice and snow. No more blackflies and mosquitoes. No more glaring sun or sudden cloudbursts to send me scrambling for shelter. No more boats and summer cottages full of guys always asking me to smoke their cigars, drink their booze and eat their food. No more sitting on the porch of the lodge, wondering what to do for the rest of the day and especially no more pesky stars shining in my windows at night to distract me from sleep.
It’s going to be great! I’ll let you all know when I get there.
This brief bit of frivolity has been brought to you by Two Guys and a Truck. For all your construction and deconstruction needs, call Two Guys and a Truck, serving the Upper Skunk Hollow area for more than twenty years. Doing it right because we’re doing it twice. And remember, we do dump runs, too. Satisfaction guaranteed or double your junk back! We may not be good but we’re slow.
Everyone at Two Guys and a Truck would like to wish you a safe and happy April Fool’s Day.
The View from Fish in a Barrel Pond 