When I padded down the stairs at six this morning, I was shocked to see a clear expanse of blue sky. The forecast had promised rain. So where was it? According to the weather radar, it was west of us and predicted to move into our area sometime after 9am. So I finished my coffee, dressed in a flash, grabbed the binoculars, and hit the trails with Sophie.
All winter we heard very few birds with the exception of our irrepressible chickadees, but for the last couple of weeks, it’s as if the bird world has come out of hiding. There are birds everywhere, and many of them have songs I’ve never heard before. I know eastern Massachusetts and southern Maine birds really well from many years of birdwatching, but the Adirondacks are proving to be a whole new ball game.
I’m sad to say this, but any serious birdwatching I intend to do will have to be done without Sophie. She doesn’t mean to make noise, but even something as innocuous as her panting disturbs the quiet. One must be absolutely still for long periods of time, and that’s not the canine mien, I’m afraid.
Now it’s half past eleven and I’m blogging while sipping on my second cup at Café Sarah in North Creek. The rain is coming down and the weather has turned colder. It’s the first day of the fishing season here, and it reminds me of my first time fishing on the first day of the season in 1962 when I was eight years old. I had my $4.95 fishing rod and reel purchased from J.M. Fields, a can of worms, and my three best friends with me. We fished below the waterfall at the South Natick Dam on the Charles River (Mass.), and caught probably 10 itsy bitsy perch altogether. It rained just as hard as it’s raining now, and was so cold that my hands tingled. Despite our raincoats and raingear, we got soaked through and came home looking half-drowned. I remember coming home chilled through and devouring at least a dozen graham crackers.
In honor of the day, and my keen interest in frying brook trout I’ve caught myself, I just bought a rod and reel at Braley and Noxon hardware, with help from the store’s #1 fishing expert. Now all I need is some sort of basic instruction. Maybe online? I just hope I can get it together enough to be out there tomorrow morning, hopefully in Kibby Creek out past the back of our land.
All winter we heard very few birds with the exception of our irrepressible chickadees, but for the last couple of weeks, it’s as if the bird world has come out of hiding. There are birds everywhere, and many of them have songs I’ve never heard before. I know eastern Massachusetts and southern Maine birds really well from many years of birdwatching, but the Adirondacks are proving to be a whole new ball game.
I’m sad to say this, but any serious birdwatching I intend to do will have to be done without Sophie. She doesn’t mean to make noise, but even something as innocuous as her panting disturbs the quiet. One must be absolutely still for long periods of time, and that’s not the canine mien, I’m afraid.
Now it’s half past eleven and I’m blogging while sipping on my second cup at Café Sarah in North Creek. The rain is coming down and the weather has turned colder. It’s the first day of the fishing season here, and it reminds me of my first time fishing on the first day of the season in 1962 when I was eight years old. I had my $4.95 fishing rod and reel purchased from J.M. Fields, a can of worms, and my three best friends with me. We fished below the waterfall at the South Natick Dam on the Charles River (Mass.), and caught probably 10 itsy bitsy perch altogether. It rained just as hard as it’s raining now, and was so cold that my hands tingled. Despite our raincoats and raingear, we got soaked through and came home looking half-drowned. I remember coming home chilled through and devouring at least a dozen graham crackers.
In honor of the day, and my keen interest in frying brook trout I’ve caught myself, I just bought a rod and reel at Braley and Noxon hardware, with help from the store’s #1 fishing expert. Now all I need is some sort of basic instruction. Maybe online? I just hope I can get it together enough to be out there tomorrow morning, hopefully in Kibby Creek out past the back of our land.
posted by Judith at 6:49 PM
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