A few weeks ago I bumped into an old acquaintance, Jerry Viktora, at a local store. This was before the social distancing and the 6-ft. thing had gone into effect. He told me about all of the wildlife that he has visiting his acreage outside of Geneva on a daily basis. Jerry said that he is awoken each morning between 5-5:30 a.m. by the wild turkeys that visit his bird feeders. Jerry also told me that it is a regular occurrence for deer also to be spotted right outside the window of his home. Add to that all of the many birds and small critters that visit, and he pretty much has his own wildlife sanctuary.
This goes to show that, in time, the critters of the wild will adjust to man’s presence. I found his story very interesting and at the same time it may have even made me just a wee bit envious. I have always had a dream of living on a little acreage in the country but, in all reality, I have accepted the fact that I am a little past the age of realizing that particular dream.
In the last few weeks I have taken to going for a drive in the country and have visited a few of our area lakes. I’ve always enjoyed taking a leisurely drive in the country any chance that I get, but now, more than ever, it seems more like therapy. Getting outdoors is a great way to keep one’s sanity during these times and to do something enjoyable at the same time. I find that a little yard work (if you eliminate the snow) is a great way to alleviate some stress and or boredom.
Our family has a little cabin in Northern Minnesota that more than fulfills my need to be an outdoors guy. I can no longer do many of the things that I once did, say 10-15 years ago. On the other hand, I have slowed down enough, so that I do actually stop and take in the beauty of wildlife and have a much better appreciation of the wonders of nature.
Northern Minnesota has much to see when it comes to wildlife and nature in general. I have encountered a few obstacles over the years on my initial first visit of the season to our little cabin in the woods. The main obstacles that I will usually encounter is fallen trees. We have many trees surrounding the cabin and along the driveway which makes it highly likely that they will fall across the driveway, whenever there is a strong wind. Over the years I have gotten to do my imitation of Paul Bunyan, minus Babe the Blue Ox, more times than I care to remember. I do get a feeling of self-satisfaction after removing the trees and opening up the drive.
We have some nice fishing lakes in the area that surrounds Albert Lea and, if you drive north to the Waterville-Elysian area, there are many more good lakes to choose from.
A couple of weeks ago I had gotten a phone call from my oldest Grandson, Trevor, who asked me if I wanted to go out on Fountain Lake with him and fish for some crappie. It was on what was, beyond a doubt, the nicest day that we had experienced so far in the year 2020. The lake had quite a few folks fishing that day and the boats were lining the channel going back to the Brookside landing. It is a good place to catch crappies, but Trevor already had a spot picked out that didn’t involve fishing in a crowd. He already had some fish in the live well when he picked me up at the landing, so we cruised back to his “hot spot.” We immediately began catching fish, but for some reason he was catching at a rate of about 4 to my one. I had to mention to him that I had taught him well. Trevor just smiled at me and kept fishing. I was like the starter kit for his fishing and he just took it and totally did his own thing. I always enjoy spending time fishing with him and just sharing stories. Any time that I can spend a few hours on a lake with any of my grandsons is precious.
On this day I didn’t catch any huge ones, but I did catch fish and that is all that really matters. As evening set in and the catching died down we decided to call it a day. It was a great day to be on the water and I was grateful to Trevor for not only taking me fishing, but for cleaning the fish and bringing me some. I have to add that they were mighty tasty, which totally reinforced the fresh out of the lake being the best theory.
Please take a few moments also to honor those who have sacrificed so much for the freedoms that we enjoy today. Also take a little extra time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, those who have served and those troops that are serving today.