The 4th of July went on, but with a few cancellations because of the flooding. The parade and the fireworks went on as scheduled, between the raindrops. The reason for the 4th of July is to celebrate our independence from Great Britain. Some folks feel that it is an excuse to shoot unlimited fireworks throughout the whole summer. I expect to hear fireworks around the 4th of July, but then give it a rest.
In thinking back to the days of my youth before the service, I remember Black Cat firecrackers, bottle rockets, cherry bombs and Roman candles being the big thing. Whistlers were also a big deal for us also.
Whenever I think of fishing, I always remember my Uncle Ben and the times that we spent going up north, going to the Mississippi or some of the lakes around Waterville and Elysian. Between Ben and my mother, I had a lot of encouragement and a lot of good advice growing up.
If I close my eyes, I can almost smell the fumes from that old 5hp green Johnson outboard of Uncle Ben’s. That smell was almost like an aphrodisiac to me because it just symbolized what fishing should smell like to me.
There are certain smells that mean things to me, like taking that first trip up north and driving through a stand of pines that has that tantalizing smell like nothing else. The smell of walking through the forest in the fall after a rain and smelling the odor of wet fallen leaves. The smell of a distant campfire as the smoke weaves its way through the trees. When I have a fire burning in the woodstove and walk outside, I can get a whiff of another smell that I love. To me, these are the smells of the north country.
If you go for a drive in the country around our area of the state, you will be treated to different odors. One of my favorites is of freshly mown hay or the smell you inhale while taking an evening drive in the country past a pond or a slough where you can not only smell the dampness of the evening, but hear the sounds of frogs, red wing blackbirds and crickets.
Until next time: I often mention it whenever I spend time with my sons or grandkids in the outdoors, whether it be up at the cabin or here at home. They all love the outdoors in one way or another. This makes me feel good about spending time with them when they were young. It’s all about quality time and taking time to bond with them. I taught them and their dads when they were their age how to clean fish and also how to clean up afterwards. If it was not fishing, it would be something as relaxing as sitting around an evening campfire roasting hotdogs or making s'mores. These are the times when lasting memories are made.
Please show your support for our troops who are now deployed. These service men and women are making that sacrifice, so that we may have the many freedoms that we enjoy today.