Woods & Water by Dick Herfindahl

 

Another Christmas has come and gone, I hope Santa found all of your stockings this year. I am usually in denial for about a week after Christmas because of all the hustle and running around leading up to it and then it has come and gone before you know it.

I am looking forward to spring already, believe me, it is quite a ways off. That is why we have ice fishing, cross country skiing, outdoor skating rinks, hockey and hills to go sliding on. As I write this column, I am watching the rain outside which makes the ice on the outside rinks less than skateable and lake ice a little more suspect when it comes to being safe. All the while, the snow seems to be disappearing, making sledding less of an option.

It seems like each year is getting to look less and less like past winters. When I was a kid, walking uphill to school both ways, as winter arrived it was always seasonal-type weather. When it snowed, it seemed to stick around for a while and the lakes and ponds were usually iced over for the duration. As kids, we would spend time at the little pond that used to sit on the east side of Bridge Street at about the spot where the Sunshine preschool was once located. This was diagonally across from where Oak Park Place sits today.

We would walk to that pond, and those of us that had skates would bring them while the rest would play hockey in their boots. I was the one kid in our gang who had a puck and a real hockey stick, thanks to my cousin Tom who had given them to me before he left for the Army. We would start a little campfire to warm up next to and once in a while someone would bring marshmallows. We would cut sticks for roasting them and have a little treat. In those days, almost every kid carried his trusty pocket knife just for emergencies like that. Pocket knives were also good for whittling away on a stick to pass the time on a slow summers day. There were days when we would play a friendly game of “stretch”, which amounted to keeping one foot stationary while you stuck a knife in the ground by throwing it and then reaching out with your other foot to touch the knife. I don’t know if we actually made that game up or if some other dummy invented it. You would then try sticking the knife in the ground a little farther out from your foot. If you did plan on trying to stick the knife a little further away, you had better be good at throwing and sticking a knife. I speak from experience after I once stuck a knife right between my big and second toe just grazing the skin enough to make it bleed. After that episode I didn’t win many more games of stretch. It didn’t take much to satisfy us kids back then. Times were just simpler and in many ways better.

The other day my grandson, Trevor, and his dad went to an out-of-the-way pond to try their luck at ice fishing. They caught quite a few panfish, but Trevor said that judging by how skinny the fish were, there was probably not enough food to support the numbers of fish. This is what I like about using a portable fish house, you can fish many different bodies of water without putting out what I call a “permanent” house. Last year, Trevor and I went to Pickerel Lake and fished for a couple of hours and then moved on to Fountain Lake. It was a great day of ice fishing with my grandson who actually did all the work, but made it look easy. Fishing was good, especially when all I had to do was fish.

There have been a few folks that have gone through the ice on snowmobiles in the last couple of weeks. This usually does not end up with good results. It is safest to avoid riding on lakes and rivers. If you must ride on ice, wear a life jacket over your outer clothing. Stay on the marked trail and stay off of ice that has moving water (current) near or under it. Ice in these areas may be thin and weak. Wearing a life jacket is a good safety precaution, but spending much time in the icy water can result in a rapid onset of hypothermia. The bottom line is to always be cautious and know that the path that you take is safe.

 

Boat hosts needed for Governor’s Fishing Opener

Until next time, we have been getting good responses for our need of fishing hosts, but we still have a long way to go in reaching the number of hosts needed to make this event a success. I would like to encourage anyone who is a registered boat owner and would like to participate in the Governor’s Fishing Opener by being a boat host to sign up online. The easiest way to do that is by going to www.governorsopener.com look for the search box and type in boat host, click on search glass and it will take you to the page. Select boat host information and follow the instructions.

This is our chance to showcase this great community that we choose to live in and one that we are proud to call home.

 

Happy new year

I would like to wish everyone the happiest of New Years!

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers, especially during this holiday season. They are the reason we are able to enjoy all the wonderful freedoms we enjoy today.