Woods & Water by Dick Herfindahl

 

Whenever the calendar page gets turned to the new year, I usually get a little antsy and start longing for some open water fishing. Realistically, I know we are at least 3-4 months away from that scenario, but a guy has to have his dreams after all. I have kind of been waiting for my grandson Trevor to give me a call and ask me to do a little ice fishing with him, but so far we haven’t connected. I am sure that we will be going one day soon.

I am also doing a little dreaming about somehow, some way, getting up to the cabin for at least a couple of days this winter. It would be great to spend a little time in the woods, watching the birds and all of the other critters that aren’t hibernating at this time of year. It was only a few years ago that my son Brian, his mother and I took a few days in April to spend at the cabin. There was plenty of snow on the ground, but we enjoyed sitting around a nice campfire talking and watching the birds at the feeders and the red squirrels as they seemed to be taunting us as they would manage to get to the sunflower seeds in those feeders. Watching those squirrels jump from branch to branch reminded me of watching a couple of clowns at the circus. They acted as if it was their job to entertain us, and that is exactly what they did.

Spending time in the woods is great at any time of the year, it just seems a little more special when it is in the winter. There is a quiet that seems to fall over the forest in the winter, that is probably because there are not as many other sounds to be heard. There are no crickets chirping or bullfrogs croaking at sunset, no ducks and geese calling, so many of the familiar summertime sounds are just not there. The one thing that jumps out at me is when you hear the sound of one or more wolves howling at night. I could listen to that sound any time, and there are times when there are the telltale signs, like the tracks in the freshly fallen snow, that let you know that they are nearby.

There is a certain element of the unknown when it comes to wildlife and spending time in the north woods. On any given day a person might see something that totally surprises you like the time a badger walked out from under our deck in broad daylight. It slowly meandered down the trail toward the neighbor’s cabin as if it didn’t have a care in the world. My wife Jean and I were alone at the cabin on that particular day and we both stood on the deck and marveled at what had just taken place. Another time we had a bear visit the feeder in front of our cabin in broad daylight. To make things even more interesting, right after he appeared, my wife said it would be cool if the bear came up on the deck. It wasn’t long before it actually climbed the stairs to the deck and proceeded to peer into the cabin through the deck door. It was just curious and my half-hearted attempt to scare it off only sent him in a big circle around the cabin which eventually brought him right back in front of the cabin.

At night there is a whole different group of furry critters that will visit the cabin. Just last year we had a pine martin, fox, deer, skunk and our nightly visit from the resident racoons who are always looking for anything edible that isn’t tied down. All of these critters were captured on one or two of the trail cameras that I had placed around the cabin.

Yes, over the years there have been many times when nature has provided us with great entertainment. One year we had about seven bald eagles and one golden eagle fighting for perch space in the big dead tree that we had standing right next to our dock. The eagles were everywhere and they were making that certain sound that they make: it is kind of eerie almost like an EEEEEEE type of sound. They will definitely let you know when they are in the area. This is what it is all about, observing wildlife in its natural habitat. It just doesn’t get any better.

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.mngovernorsopener.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. You may also stop by the CVB office to pick up a registration form or call me at 507-383-2231 for more information. This is our chance to showcase this great community that we choose to live in and one that we are proud to call home.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers during the year of 2019. They are the reason that we are able to enjoy all of these wonderful freedoms that we enjoy today.